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COPYRIGHT DEPOSrT. 



THE TECHNIQUE 
OF PAGEANTRY 



BY 

LINWOOD TAFT, Ph.D. 

Chairman Department of Pageants and Festivals 

for The Drama League of America 

Director American Pageant Association 



WITH FRONTISPIECE 



NEW YORK 

A. S. BARNES AND COMPANY 

1921 



-tH^ 3 



Copyright, 1921, by 
A. S. BARNES AND COMPANY 



First published in a very much abridged form in the 
July- August. September, 1920, number of The Drama 
magazine. Here revised and expanded through the 
courtesy of the editors of The Drama. 



SEP I? 1921. 

g)~ A6 24 263 



"V,* 



THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED 
TO THE MEMORY OF 

ieonora €. Caft, a**., &.;#. 

INDOMITABLE SUPPORTER OF JUSTICE 
AND EQUALITY FOR ALL 



PREFACE 

Through experience in directing pageants in about twenty- 
five different cities and towns of the United States the author 
has come to the conclusion that pageantry is the most appro- 
priate medium of expression of a particular phase of com- 
munity life. He offers this volume as a contribution towards 
building up and extending community interests, with the 
hope that it may be of value to those communities that are 
seeking some worthy expression of the life of their com- 
munities through the celebration of anniversaries of which 
they are proud and which they wish to commemorate. 

The experience upon which this book is based has been 
gained through association with many different persons all 
working unselfishly for the advancement of some particular 
community. Their co-operation and assistance have made 
possible whatever of success has crowned the efforts of the 
author. Suitable recognition of all of them is not possible. 
Grateful acknowledgment is here made to those most closely 
associated with the author in producing different* pageants : 
Mrs. F. W. Flower, Mr. Henry O. Gilmer, Miss Mary L. 
Klingner, Mrs. C. A. McCanse, Dr. F. Louise Nardin, 
Savannah Festival Association, Mr. Ralph K. Watkins, 
Miss Gladys M. Wheat. 



CONTENTS 

PART I 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Introduction i 

II. The Organization 10 

Pageant Chairman. Pageant Committee. Pageant Master. 

Business Manager. Pageant Artist. Costumer. Musical 

Director. Scenic Manager. Electrician. Advertising 

Manager. Episode Director. 

III. The Book 40 

Title- Author. Language of the Book. Content. Style. 
Sale of the Books. Editing. Need for the Book. 

IV. The Music 55 

Function. Standard and Original Composition. Arrang- 
ing the Music. The Pageant Orchestra. Placing the 
Orchestra. Orchestral Difficulties. Pageant Songs. En- 
trance and Exit Music. 

V. The Cast 65 

Selecting the Cast. Appropriate Casting Character Parts. 
Pageant Acting. Principal Parts. Central Figures. Epi- 
sode Casts. Professional Actors. 

VI. The Rehearsals 76 

Orchestra Rehearsals. Group Rehearsals. Full Rehearsals. 
Dress Rehearsals. Inspections. Full Dress Rehearsals. 
Group Dress Rehearsal. General Considerations. 

VII. The Performance 92 

Makeup. Character Makeup. Final Inspection. Begin- 
ning the Pageant. Ushers. Discipline. Tempo. Pageant 
Master and the Performers. Pageant Finales. Lost and 
Found. Number of Performances. 

vii 



viii CONTENTS 

PART II 

PAGE 

I. A Pageant of Thanksgiving 109 

Programme. The Book. 

II. Historical Festival and Pageant 139 

Descriptive Programmes. Savannah a Hundred Years 
Ago. A Newspaper Notice. 

III. Programme of a Patriotic Pageant 163 

IV. A Newspaper Notice „ 167 



THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 



PART I 



I. THE INTRODUCTION 

Pageantry has become so familiar to the people of the 
United States within the last few years that no detailed ex- 
planation of its scope and aims is necessary. It may be 
well, however, to review some of its principal aspects for 
the sake of those who have had no intimate personal con- 
tact -with the organization and administration of a pageant. 
The organization and effective administration of a pageant 
that is to be worth while bear the same relation to the man- 
agement of an ordinary dramatic production that modern 
"big business" bears to the limited business organizations 
to be found in the third quarter of the last century. Such 
an organization cannot be perfected overnight. It must 
be the result of careful planning and the wise selection of 
personnel. 

The matter of the number of people in the cast points 
very clearly to the complicated organization necessary to 
ensure a reasonably correct performance that shall move 
forward with few or no interruptions. Aside from the 
matter of the selection of these persons and their assign- 
ment to definite parts, and this is a problem of considerable 
magnitude in a pageant using hundreds of characters, the 
mere mechanical arrangements necessary in order that the 
entrances and exits may be carried out as planned call for 
an elaborate organization of directors and assistants almost 
appalling in its intricacy. Add to this the successful opera- 
tion of all the other details that go with the presentation 



2 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

of a successful pageant performance and something of the 
magnitude of the undertaking may be understood. Taking 
care of hundreds of characters when they are not on the 
stage is enough to tax the ingenuity of even an experienced 
director. With a community thoughtfully and completely 
organized these many details are, however, taken care of 
more or less automatically and the burden which falls upon 
any individual is relatively slight. The chapters which fol- 
low attempt to give the essential points in the organization 
of a community in such a manner that a smoothly running 
machine results, a machine that makes practically certain 
a successful production which shows no sign of the machin- 
ery existing behind the production. 

A pageant is much wider in its scope than is an ordi- 
nary dramatic performance. It may present in a broad 
sketchy manner events widely separated in time so long as 
they are closely related in character or in the ideals ex- 
pressed. One's sense of the fitness of things is not offended 
although the whole range of the history of the world is 
included in the action of a pageant so long as all of the 
episodes contribute to the idea which the pageant seeks to 
express. The pageant is not bound by the traditional unities 
of the drama yet it must have some continuity of action 
or emotion to hold the various parts together. A mere 
collection of historical episodes cannot correctly be called a 
pageant unless they all express the same idea or all con- 
tribute to the building up of a central idea. Unity of idea 
is the only unity the preservation of which is essential in 
pageantry. Freedom from the restraints of time and place 
allows nearly unlimited scope in the selection of material 
for pageant episodes. In fact the more widely separated in 
point of time and place the episodes are the more effective 
they are apt to be from the standpoint of the spectacular. 

The acting of a pageant is more formal, impression- 
istic, and lacking in detailed delineation of character than is 
the acting of the drama. The staging of a pageant is, how- 
ever, much less formal than the staging of a play. Much 



THE INTRODUCTION 3 

of the action of a pageant may and probably will take place 
on the stage but on the other hand a considerable portion of 
it may take place in the aisles and other open spaces within 
the view of the audience. In the most effective form of 
pageantry the entire audience is made to feel itself a part of 
the pageant and hence the stage in reality includes all of 
the space within the building or, if the pageant be given out 
of doors, all the space near the formal stage. In other 
words the whole pageant space is considered as possible 
stage space and utilized as such as occasion warrants. The 
stage of the drama is confined to the restricted area re- 
moved from the audience by all the conventional appliances 
of the theater created to foster illusion and give a sharper 
perspective to the stage pictures. 

Instead of being the commercial enterprise of an indi- 
vidual or a small group of people as is the regular theater 
drama, the pageant is, or should be, the non-commercial, 
non-professional, more or less spontaneous expression of 
some phase of the life of a community. The pageant does 
not aim at dramatic perfection. Its very life would be 
sacrificed in the effort to gain such dramatic perfection. The 
spontaneous and the community aspects are the vital ones in 
pageantry. Any sacrifice of either, whether it be by the 
employment of professional actors or by limiting the organ- 
ization to a small group, destroys to that extent the real 
nature, and hence the possibility for service, of the pageant. 
To be spontaneous it must be as natural and unstudied as 
possible. To be a real community enterprise it must involve 
all of the institutions and interests of the community. The 
former may be secured by allowing the members of each 
episode group to work out in their own way the expression 
of the message of their episode as they understand it. The 
latter may be assured by selecting the episode directors, not 
only for their executive ability, which is of primary impor- 
tance, but also because they will be able to bring into the 
pageant organization institutions or groups of people not 
otherwise to be interested. 



4 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

No individual, or group of individuals, expects to profit 
financially from a pageant. In this sense it is not a com- 
mercial enterprise as is the drama in the regular theater. 
As a matter of fact very few pageants are a success finan- 
cially because of the very great expense involved in such 
productions. One produced several times in and near New 
York recently is reported as having netted a very large sum 
for charitable purposes but in this case the expenses were 
practically all taken care of by persons interested in the 
charity and hence the gross receipts and the net receipts were 
very nearly the same. One given in St. Louis in the summer 
of 191 8 for the benefit of various war activities resulted in 
a rather large deficit. The Savannah Centennial Pageant 
of April, 19 1 9, resulted in a net profit of a few hundred 
dollars. Although the patriotic pageant given in the smaller 
cities and towns of Missouri under the direction of the 
Woman's Committee of the Missouri Division, Council of 
National Defense, 19 17-19 18, was not primarily intended as 
a source of profit yet it did yield many thousands of dollars 
to the Red Cross and to the Council of Defense over and 
above all expenses. This work was done under circum- 
stances favorable for the making of money and the expendi- 
tures were very carefully supervised. As a matter of fact 
financial gain should not be a primary motive in the presenta- 
tion of a pageant. The main purpose of a pageant, correctly 
so called, should be the worthy expression of some phase 
of community life and the financial aspect of such a per- 
formance should be considered only as a secondary matter. 

In much the same way the acting of a pageant should be 
non-professional rather than professional. Professional 
actors will guarantee a more finished production if it be 
considered from the standpoint of dramatic excellence alone, 
but, as before stated, dramatic excellence is not a proper aim 
of pageantry if it be emphasized at the expense of the com- 
munity aspect. The actors should be members of the com- 
munity and should have the intense personal interest in the 
events which the pageant commemorates that cannot usually 



THE INTRODUCTION 5 

be expected from professional actors. They are interested 
in acting for its own sake. Pageant actors should be 
interested in that particular bit of acting because of its 
significance to the life of the community. For this reason 
resident amateurs give a much more satisfactory and con- 
vincing pageant performance than even the most skilled of 
non-resident professional actors. Pageantry is not a suitable 
medium for the expression of the art of the trained actor. 
His proper field is the real drama with its possibilities for 
the portrayal of development of character. Development 
of character has very little part in the construction of 
pageants. Each episode of a pageant can, and should, show 
only one significant moment in the life of any one individual 
or group of individuals. The acting of the pageant is static 
rather than dynamic, hence it can be effectively done by an 
untrained person of the type demanded by the character of 
the particular episode in question. 

The modern pageant is the direct outgrowth of the mys- 
tery play of the later middle ages, in fact, the pageant is 
still defined in the standard dictionaries as a mystery play. 
With this in mind many of the inconsistencies of pageantry 
could more easily be avoided. The masque features so often 
found in pageants would be excluded, much if not all of the 
dialogue that portrays the development of character would 
be excluded, and much of the irrelevant dancing, excellent 
enough in itself and in its proper place, but having little or 
no relation to the pageant, would also have to be omitted. 
There is no desire here to decry forms of dramatic inter- 
pretation not intrinsically related to pageantry. There is, 
however, a very definite wish to distinguish as clearly as 
possible between the pageant in its pure form and the hodge 
podge of dramatic forms often dignified by the term 
pageant; The mystery play dealt with events outside of the 
experiences of human life in its human relations. It con- 
cerned itself with those rare moments of human experience 
when existence was transformed and glorified through con- 
tact with the divine. Its story was the story of some part 



6 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

of the life of Christ but that story in its relation to the men 
and women who saw the mystery. It was an attempt to 
interpret for them the mystery of the relation between God 
and man. Later many irrelevant and unworthy elements were 
inserted in order, one may imagine, to popularize the appeal 
but this led so directly to the exclusion of the mystery play 
from the church service and even from the church premises 
that a very definite warning to moderns is implied. 

The modern pageant does not deal with religious matters 
as often as with historical events. At the same time the sort 
of event that makes suitable and convincing pageant material 
is the unusual event, the kind of thing that happens only in 
exalted moments when men are inspired by lofty and 
unselfish motives. Divine relationship is accepted as an 
essential part of such events without question and without 
doubt. 

Let us, by all means, have as many and as varied 
dramatic forms as is possible. It would, however, seem 
the part of wisdom as well as of art to attempt to keep these 
forms fairly distinct and not to bring them all into disrepute 
through an unnatural and unnecessary mixture, regardless 
of the name by which it may be called. 

There are two main types of pageants. There is the 
more or less local and historical pageant such as is given 
in connection with centennial celebrations, and there is the 
pageant dealing with impersonal forces such as the spirit of 
thanksgiving which can, nevertheless, be personified. As 
a matter of fact, the latter would have a strongly historical 
character, but the history involved would be general rather 
than specific, world history rather than local history. The 
first type of pageant would be suitable only for the particular 
place for which it was written. The second type would be 
appropriate in any place at the Thanksgiving season. 

The first form of pageant is much surer and more direct 
in its appeal but is limited by its local nature and its strictly 
historical character. Its history must be authentic, its facts 
accurate. The second form has no such direct appeal to 



THE INTRODUCTION 7 

local pride but because of its general character it allows 
much wider scope in the selection of material and in the 
artistic handling of the theme. It can emphasize the artistic 
where the first form must attend primarily to accuracy to 
well-established and well-known facts. The historical 
pageant has the greater educational value, probably, but the 
aesthetic possibilities of the general pageant are limited only 
by the resources of the group presenting it. 

The first type of pageant is illustrated by the Savannah 
Centennial Pageant and the second by the Pageant of 
Thanksgiving, both included in this volume (Part II). The 
Savannah pageant dealt with the founding of the principal 
institutions of the city in connection with the sailing of the 
Savannah, the first steamship to cross the ocean. The cen- 
tennial week dealt largely with the sailing of the Savannah. 
The pageant grouped about that event other important 
events of the decade. The Thanksgiving pageant had to do 
with the spirit of thanksgiving as exhibited by different 
nations at different times in the history of the world. 
Although given in Savannah, Georgia, it would appeal to 
any other group of people in any other place just as strongly. 
It did not have the same intense appeal to local pride as did 
the other. 

The first question to be settled after a community has 
decided to give a pageant is the place where it will be given. 
Upon this decision depends the work of the author and to 
some extent the other pageant officers. A pageant to be 
presented out of doors requires a different method of treat- 
ment and administration from one to be given in a theater 
or auditorium. The difference is in reality more in the 
distribution of the work than in the nature of the organiza- 
tion. The scenic manager has a greater task in arranging an 
outdoor stage than a stage in a theater. At the same time he 
has much greater opportunity for unusual effects. The same 
thing is true in varying degrees with all pageant officers. 

An indoor performance is much simpler in many ways. 
The seating of the audience is already taken care of as is 



8 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

the matter of the weather. A theater is not, however, a 
good place for a pageant. Its construction is wrong. It aims 
to separate the audience from the players as completely as 
is possible within a space small enough for the speaking voice 
to be heard. The feeling of separation is the last thing to 
be desired in a pageant. A pageant audience should feel 
itself an integral part of the performance and this is not 
possible with the restricted construction of a theater. A 
theater audience feels itself entirely apart from the world of 
the stage, a world where things are usually the opposite of 
what they seem and where all the arts and devices of the 
theater are employed to make things appear entirely dif- 
ferent from what they actually are. The stage world is a 
world of illusion in so far as the audience is concerned. In 
pageantry the audience is taken entirely into the confidence 
of the actors. Instead of building up an illusion the aim is 
to secure a feeling of sympathetic participation on the part 
of the audience. For this reason an auditorium with broad 
aisles and easy access to the stage is the best kind of building 
for a pageant that must be given indoors. The great advan- 
tage of a theater building is the facilities for lighting effects. 
Since these or similar effects may be secured by an ingenious 
electrician in an auditorium, a theater building would be con- 
sidered only as a last resort in producing a pageant. 

Theater employees are more completely organized than 
almost any other group of workers. In renting a theater 
for a pageant it will usually be necessary to employ the full 
force of employees at the regular rates, whether they are 
needed or not, in order to get the use of the building and 
the services of the one or two employees that are needed. It 
is very difficult for amateurs to work with professional 
theater workers, even where the theater force will consent to 
work with them. The attitude of many theater electricians 
and stage hands towards amateur performances is often one 
of supreme contempt. This is not at all surprising and is not 
particularly to their discredit when one stops to consider the 
difference in the aims of amateur and professional per- 



THE INTRODUCTION 9 

formances. These regular theater workers insist on doing 
things in the conventional theater way and are more of a 
liability than an asset when special effects are desired. One 
cannot blame them for trying to protect the interests of their 
class, since that seems to be the aim of all classes of society 
to-day. In preparing for a pageant one can, however, save 
a great amount of friction and considerable unnecessary 
expense by using a building other than a regular theater or 
by having the pageant out of doors. 

Except for the difficulty of seating the audience and for 
the uncertainty of the weather every argument is in favor of 
an out-of-door performance. Unlimited space for a stage, 
long avenues of approach for groups of characters, the pos- 
sibility of using large groups without producing the effect of 
crowding, greater ease in disposing of groups when off the 
stage, and many other features are all in favor of the out-of- 
door pageant. Then there is an emotional appeal to a 
pageant given in the open that is lacking when the per- 
formance has to be compressed to the limitations of a 
building. 

In a final analysis the climate and season of the year 
must, of course, be the determining factors in settling the 
question of whether a pageant shall be given in the open or 
under cover. The Savannah Festival Association plans 
regularly for a programme of approximately an hour in length 
for its community Christmas celebration. The celebration is 
held in the principal park of the city and the climate is such 
that people seldom experience any discomfort from cold 
while standing through the programme. In California, during 
the summer months, there is no question of the weather inter- 
fering with an out-of-door performance. During the winter 
months there is the same uncertainty about the weather in 
California that there is in the summer in New England and 
advertised performances must often be postponed until 
better weather arrives. The pageant given out of doors is, 
however, usually much more effective than one given inside. 



II. THE ORGANIZATION 

Pageant Chairman. — When a community, or any group 
of people within a community, decides to give a pageant as 
a fitting expression of some phase, past or present, of the 
community life the first step in the necessary organization is 
the appointment, or election, of the pageant chairman. A 
majority vote of the group planning to give the pageant is 
probably the best way in which to decide upon a pageant 
chairman. This method of election practically ensures a 
chairman with whom a majority of the people of the com- 
munity can work harmoniously. The pageant chairman 
should be a person of experience in handling people, who 
has the confidence and respect of the community, and who 
can give time enough to the pageant to secure unity of organ- 
ization and directness of execution. 

As the president of a bank has general control of the 
business and policy of the bank but delegates the actual doing 
of the business and the carrying out of the policy to sub- 
ordinates, so the pageant chairman has general control and 
direction of all the various phases of the pageant but leaves 
the carrying out of the plans to other pageant officers. He 
should, therefore, help select all pageant officers as a means 
of obtaining a group of people who will work together har- 
moniously. 

The business of the pageant chairman is to coordinate 
the efforts of all of the other officers. He will advise with 
them concerning the details of organization and methods 
of carrying out the policy of the group for which he is 
acting. In many cases his great difficulty is maintaining 
peace in the official family; the prevention of injured feelings 
and the soothing of feelings that have been hurt, quite 

10 



THE ORGANIZATION n 

unintentionally usually, by the logical working of so complex 
an organization. This personal attitude is the great 
stumbling block in the way of all community effort. It can- 
not always be avoided but it can be minimized if from the 
beginning all pageant officers show plainly that they are not 
working as individuals for personal advancement but as 
members of the community for the sake of the community 
as a whole. Such an attitude on the part of pageant officers 
is sure to make the work of administering the pageant 
infinitely easier and more effective. Members of the various 
committees and of the cast quickly recognize this attitude on 
the part of the officers and as quickly emulate them. This is 
the factor that makes the pageant the most appropriate form 
of dramatic expression for community purposes and the skill 
of the chairman can nowhere be better employed than in 
supporting and extending a democratic, unselfish attitude of 
working with the group for the good of the whole. 

Each pageant officer must, of course, have practically final 
control of that portion of the pageant work that rightly falls 
within his province, yet the chairman must have veto power 
over the decisions of even the chairmen of the different com- 
mittees. Lacking this unit of control the efforts of the 
different committees may be at variance and the results 
neutralized. The number of people involved in a pageant 
and the time and expense necessary to a successful production 
make it imperative that the organization be so complete that 
all these elements will be conserved. It cannot be entirely 
complete unless the chairman has final authority in all mat- 
ters relating to the pageant. As a matter of fact the wise 
chairman will be guided in large measure by the judgment of 
the majority of the pageant officers in any matter that con- 
cerns the production as a whole but there will be times when 
it is not possible to call a meeting of the officers even when it 
is imperative that a question vital to the success of the pro- 
duction be settled. In such cases the pageant chairman must 
decide by himself, keeping always in mind the purpose of the 
group which he represents. The community aspect of the 



12 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

pageant will be enlarged or restricted according to the ability 
of the pageant chairman in selecting the members of the 
pageant committee and in selecting through them the other 
pageant officers. 

Pageant Committee. — The pageant chairman should 
select the pageant committee consisting of two or four other 
members. A larger committee may be desired in order that 
the major interests of the community may be represented, 
but since the minor as well as the major interests may, 
through wise selection, be represented through the other 
pageant officers this point is not vital with regard to the 
pageant committee. There is a distinct advantage in having 
a small committee since it is a well-known fact that business 
may be conducted more expeditiously with a small committee 
than with a large one. The important thing in selecting the 
members of the pageant committee is securing persons who 
will know the different groups and elements that make up the 
community and who will also know of individuals within 
each of these groups who will be dependable in carrying out 
the details of the pageant. These individuals would, of 
course, be selected as pageant officers or as chairmen of sub- 
committees. 

The first and most important duty of the pageant com- 
mittee as a whole is the appointment or election of the other 
pageant officers: (a) pageant master; (b) business 
manager; (c) pageant artist; (d) costumer; (e) musical 
director; (/) scenic manager; (g) electrician; (h) advertis- 
ing manager; (i) directors of episodes. With the appoint- 
ment or election of the pageant officers the main function 
of the pageant committee, as such, has been fulfilled. They 
should, however, attend all general meetings of the pageant 
officers and serve individually in an advisory capacity as 
occasion demands. They will also have opportunity to 
interest many people and groups of people in the pageant 
and thus contribute to its success rather directly. 

The pageant committee will, either by themselves or 



THE^ ORGANIZATION 13 

assisted by the other pageant officers, select the time and 
place for the performance, fix the price of admission, and 
settle such other matters of general policy as may arise. In 
addition to their advisory duties as individuals they may be 
called upon to act as a committee in advising as to certain 
details referred to them by pageant officers. They certainly 
will have a deciding voice in outlining the groups of the 
pageant and the scale upon which it is to be organized and 
presented. 

Pageant Master. — Probably the most important of 
the pageant officers is the pageant master or director. Both 
terms are common in describing the person who is in charge 
of the actual production of the pageant. Upon him devolves 
the task of coordinating and unifying the more or less 
detailed work of the episode directors. Indeed, he very 
often must work with the pageant chairman in coordinating 
the efforts of all of the pageant officers whether their work 
be directly or indirectly related to the actual production of 
the pageant. He must, of course, direct the rehearsals and 
the performances. His esthetic ideals and artistic apprecia- 
tion will make or mar the success of the pageant from the 
standpoint of dramatic and artistic effect. He must have a 
high degree of executive ability and must be able to work 
harmoniously with all sorts and conditions of people. It is 
usually well to select a person with as much previous experi- 
ence of the right kind as is possible. The pageant master is 
the one officer who should usually be chosen from outside 
the group or community giving the pageant. The success of 
the whole pageant enterprise depends upon him and he 
should be a person of experience and training. Such persons 
are not usually found in any except very large cities or uni- 
versity centers. If a community does have an experienced 
director as a member of its group his work will undoubtedly 
be more effective than that of a stranger although the latter 
may be more experienced or better trained or both. 

The pageant master will need a secretary to attend to 



i 4 ' THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

telephoning, typing lists of characters, and getting the 
material for the book in shape for the printer. It is not 
good businesss to leave him to do this purely clerical work, 
as he must often neglect it or else neglect the work that more 
properly belongs to his office. Usually someone will volun- 
teer their services as secretary. If not, it would be well to 
employ a part time secretary for the last two or three weeks 
of the preparatory period. 

In a small pageant the director may combine the duties 
of his office with those of some of the other pageant officers 
such as pageant artist, musical director, and the like, depend- 
ing upon his ability. There are advantages in this arrange- 
ment. The director, or pageant master, can often drill the 
orchestra to do what the pageant requires in less time than 
it would take him to hold conferences enough with the 
musical director to ensure his understanding of the needs of 
the different episodes. In much the same way the pageant 
master may be able to work out the color scheme and lighting 
plans without help from others. A higher degree of unity 
may result from this concentration of responsibility and 
authority. On the other hand if a pageant master is perform- 
ing the duties of some other officer, such as those of the 
musical director, these duties may occupy his time and atten- 
tion so completely during the performance of the pageant 
that the details properly belonging to his office have to be 
left to chance or neglected. The folly of this course is evi- 
dent. If it is impossible to find properly qualified persons 
to act as directors of the music, the lighting, or the staging, 
it may be necessary for the pageant master to assume the 
duties of these directors. Under such circumstances it would 
be well to train two or three assistants to the pageant master 
to look after the details that require attention during the 
performance. Each assistant could be given few enough 
responsibilities so that there would be no danger of any of 
them being forgotten or neglected. In this way the pageant 
master himself would be free to direct the orchestra or to 
lock after any other part of the performance. In a pageant 



THE ORGANIZATION 



with a cast of two hundred or more it is much better to 
divide these duties and responsibilities among the different 
officers listed above. 

The necessity for the pageant master to take on the 
duties of musical director will probably occur oftener than 
any other combination of duties. This is due to many things. 
It is sometimes difficult to find a musical director who can 
give the time necessary to perfect the musical background 
for the pageant. Often a small city or town may not have 
a resident director. In some cases there are so few instru- 
ments available that all who play must be used in the 
orchestra and it seems essential that the musical director be 
free from any other tax upon his attention. The reason 
for this is that in a pageant the music must be fitted to the 
action instead of the action being fitted to the music as is the 
case with opera. If the musical director is to accomplish this 
he must be free from any other duty so that he may watch 
the action as it progresses and fit the music to it. 

Another duty that a pageant master is often called upon 
to assume is that of electrician. In many cases where an 
electrician is available it is necessary for the director to 
stay with him during the performance and supervise directly 
the shifting of lights. In illustration of this the predicament 
of a certain director may be cited. Her lighting cues were 
all carefully arranged and given to the electrician. Imme- 
diately after the beginning of the pageant her duties took her 
to another part of the auditorium and the electrician was left 
to his own devices. She was detained throughout the 
remainder of the pageant and from the time she left him 
until the end he missed every cue and gave the wrong light 
every time. If this can happen where the electrician has 
been working on the same switchboard for months and has 
also worked with the director before, what may happen 
under less favorable circumstances can be imagined better 
than described. 

Less difficult than the combinations of duties spoken of 
above is that of business manager or advertising agent and 



16 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

those of pageant master. These combinations are considered 
as less difficult because the conflict of duties is not apt to 
come during the actual performance of the pageant. The 
conflict may be just as serious when it interferes with 
rehearsals but it seems less so as less depends upon the 
continuity of a rehearsal than upon the continuity of a per- 
formance. During the recent war pageant masters often 
found it necessary to assume duties properly belonging to 
other pageant officers but under ordinary circumstances this 
should not be necessary and it will often limit the effective- 
ness of the pageant if it is attempted. 

Business Manager. — Next in importance to the 
pageant master is the business manager. His duties are to 
make all financial arrangements such as leasing an audi- 
torium or park, arranging for sale of tickets, keeping a check 
upon all expenditures, and in general seeing that the pageant 
is conducted in a financially safe way and that sound business 
principles are applied as the standard to proposed scales 
of expenditure. He should know the minimum probable 
income from sale of seats and should keep an itemized 
account of all expenses that have been authorized so that at 
any time the pageant master may be informed as to the 
advisability of expansion of plans or of the necessity for 
retraction. This statement assumes that while there will 
be no attempt to make money on a pageant there will be a 
definite attempt to make it a self-supporting enterprise. 

The expenses of a pageant are always large and it is 
much easier to let them swamp the project financially than 
to keep them within the limits of the probable income. This 
is so well recognized that the city of St. Louis, 19 17, asked 
for a deposit of several thousand dollars as a guarantee 
fund from an organization proposing to use the open-air 
municipal theater for a pageant. Even where the persons 
taking the parts assume the expense of their own costumes 
the other expenses are enough to bring the total up to a high 
figure. For this reason a business manager is needed who 



THE ORGANIZATIi i 7 

will always have the exact financial situation in mind and 
who will be able to show why a proposed expense must not 
be incurred or why it may be incurred with safety. 

The sale of tickets may be handled in several different 
ways. The business manager will see that they are printed 
and that essential information is placed on them. The 
title of the pageant, the place and time it will be given, and 
the price are essential to a successful sale of tickets. In 
addition it is well to include the hour of beginning. If an 
advance sale of seats is desired, and it very often is, arrange- 
ments must be made for this sale through special committees 
or through the school children. In whatever way the advance 
sale is conducted one thing should be insisted upon. The 
territory should be districted and the individuals or groups 
selling the tickets should be instructed to confine themselves 
strictly to their own districts. Overlapping in this matter 
has often prejudiced the public and annoyed individuals to 
the extent of making them decide not to buy tickets and not 
to attend the pageant. It is more unfortunate to have 
persons importuned repeatedly by different sales agents to 
buy tickets than it is to have the advance sale neglected 
entirely. Arrangements will need to be made for a box office 
sale of seats and for the exchange of tickets for reserved 
seats if any seats are to be reserved. It seems much more 
democratic to charge a flat rate of admission for an out-of- 
door pageant and let those arriving early have a choice of 
the seats. If the pageant is given indoors the same rule 
holds except that there may well be a difference in price for 
balcony and for orchestra seats. The former are the better 
seats for a pageant, hence would bring a higher price. There 
is reason to doubt the advantage of the advance sale of seats. 
Experience seems to show that not many more seats are sold 
than would be the case if the sale were confined to the box 
office. It is always a difficult matter to get unsold tickets 
returned and accounts checked before the performance. The 
agents will want to retain the tickets with the hope of selling 
some at the last minute, and many people do refuse to buy 



18 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

until they are sure of being able to attend the pageant. If 
the agents are allowed to keep the tickets until after the 
performance there is usually still greater difficulty in getting 
the accounts completed and checked. 

The only satisfactory method of keeping account of all 
expenditures is to limit purchasing power to. one or two 
officers' or to require itemized statements of expenditures 
every few days from all who are authorized to purchase. 
Probably both of these safeguards might well be insisted 
upon. Requisition blanks issued by the business manager 
would undoubtedly be the most exact way of all from the 
standpoint of the business manager but in actual practice 
this is found to entail so great a loss of time that its useful- 
ness is seriously impaired. While financial restrictions are 
valuable and even very necessary, their usefulness ends when 
they interfere with the preparations for the pageant. When 
the scenic manager and the costumer must find the business 
manager and get a requisition endorsed before they can buy 
a necessary article, perhaps of small value, the delay to their 
work may affect the success of the performance to an extent 
altogether disproportionate to the amount involved. Fre- 
quent checking of accounts, then, would seem to be the best 
method of keeping the expenditures within the probable 
income from the pageant. Experience also shows that it is 
better to maintain charge accounts at the different shops and 
pay no bills until after the pageant. This saves time for the 
shops as well as for the pageant officers. The bills should 
be checked, item by item, by the business manager and the 
officers who incurred the expense before the bills are paid. 
This should be done in addition to frequent checkings before 
the pageant. 

Estimating the probable minimum income from a 
pageant is a very essential part of the work of the business 
manager. In fact, the character of the production must 
depend directly upon this estimate. If it is approximately 
correct the expenses of the pageant can be met without undue 
worry and effort. The estimate should be made at the 



THE ORGANIZATION 19 

earliest possible time so that the pageant master may know 
how much money will be available and how it may be appor- 
tioned in order that each department may be conducted to 
the best purpose. A definite budget should be adopted. The 
advertising manager should be allowed a certain amount, a 
definite amount set aside for the printing of tickets and 
programmes or pageant books, an allowance made for buying 
music, and so on through all of the departments. That the 
estimate may be reasonably accurate it is necessary to know 
exactly the seating capacity of the building where the 
pageant is to be given or to decide upon the number of seats 
that are to be put in if an out-of-door pageant is being 
planned. Knowing the number of seats, the scale of prices 
may be arranged to furnish the amount of money desired, 
but there must always be admissions that are within the reach 
of practically every person in the community. Perhaps a 
better way is to determine the price of admission that should 
be charged, than the number of seats available, and then 
with this as a basis apportion the money thus provided 
among the different departments. Allowance must always 
be made for a proportion of empty seats and unsold tickets, 
but as this is a matter that will be different in different places, 
local experience must be depended upon to give the informa- 
tion. It is much better to make a conservative estimate and 
have the proceeds of the pageant exceed it than to be too 
optimistic in estimating and have the proceeds fall below 
the expenditures. Very often when the pageant celebrates 
some event of local history and is a real community enter- 
prise the local authorities will vote money for the purpose. 
Such an appropriation is a legitimate source of income for 
the pageant and should be added to the estimated income 
from the sale of tickets before the apportionment of funds 
is made. The reason for adding this money to the estimated 
income instead of subtracting it is that it was appropriated in 
recognition of the fact that the pageant is a community 
enterprise that will increase the prestige of the locality, 
advertise it, or worthily express and memorialize some phase 



20 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

of its history. It is eminently appropriate, then, that the 
money should be used in presenting a more elaborate and 
creditable performance than would otherwise be possible. 
When money has been appropriated for a pageant a certain 
number of free seats should- be scheduled. Knowledge and 
ability on the part of the pageant officers will often make 
up for lack of money in arranging a worthy production but 
in general the effectiveness of the pageant is in direct ratio 
to the amount of money that may be spent on it. 

Pageant Artist. — The pageant artist has the responsi- 
bility of deciding upon the color scheme for the pageant 
as a whole and for the color and lighting effects within the 
episodes, including the colors for individual costumes, the 
grouping of these colors on the stage, and the use of colored 
lights if the pageant is to be presented at night. A high 
degree of co-operation between the pageant artist, the cos- 
turner, the electrician, and the pageant master is essential if 
the plans of the pageant artist are to be carried out effectively. 

Audiences may be entirely unconscious of the method by 
which their emotional response is secured but they are not 
at all unresponsive to beauty and harmony whether they be 
of tone, form, or color. Each episode of a pageant may be 
beautiful from the standpoint of form and color but if no 
regard is paid to the progression of colors as the episodes 
follow each other a very strong source of appeal is lost. An 
audience very likely would not realize what was lacking 
under these circumstances but it would none the less be 
conscious of the lack. A pageant presented in Kansas City 
some years ago illustrates the need for a carefully worked 
out color scheme for a pageant as a whole. People who 
attended this pageant, in commenting upon it afterward, 
complained of a feeling of monotony as they watched the 
progression of episodes. They could give no reason for the 
impression nor could they explain how it was received or 
when they began to feel it. When questioned closely they 
maintained that the different episodes were beautifully 



THE ORGANIZATION 21 

staged and elaborately costumed, yet a vague feeling of lack 
of satisfaction persisted. The only explanation of their 
impression is that the pageant was planned by episodes in so 
far as the color scheme was concerned and the pageant as a 
whole was neglected. The result was a series of episodes, 
each excellent in itself but not properly related to the pre- 
ceding or following episodes in the matter of color. Lack 
of variety or contrast and lack of harmony was inevitable, 
or almost inevitable, under the circumstances. The Thanks- 
giving pageant included in this book was planned differently. 
The pageant artist decided upon the color of the stage 
settings first, then upon the colors for the costumes of the 
central figures and of the attendants, who were on the stage 
when the curtain was first raised. Since each pair of 
attendants was assigned to a particular episode group the 
colors allowed within each episode were determined by the 
colors of the costumes of the attendants. The samples of 
the colors for all the episodes were then arranged in the 
sequence they would follow in the pageant and the necessary 
corrections and modifications were made. Finally colors 
were assigned to individual characters within the episodes. 
A varied yet ordered progression of color effects was secured 
that gave a most satisfactory impression. The attention of 
the audience was held throughout with no feeling of weari- 
ness or monotony. Since the impression that will be retained 
by the audience depends upon the pageant as a whole rather 
than upon special episodes this is the better way to plan for 
the colors to be used. 

Within some episodes a great variety of colors may be 
used effectively if proper regard be observed in the grouping 
of the characters. The pageant master and the pageant 
artist will be able to work out together the details of such a 
matter when it is necessary. Where the episode is restricted 
to a single color and only tones of that color may be used 
such detailed care is not so essential but even there it is well 
worth while. Episode II of the Thanksgiving pageant 
referred to was restricted to the use of tones of yellow by 



22 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

the pageant artist. The episode group passed in proces- 
sional form down the center aisle of the building, mounted 
the broad steps to the stage, wound its way across the stage 
and disappeared into the wings as though making its way 
on a ceremonial pilgrimage to the shrine of Athene. The 
tones of color in costumes and properties were so arranged 
that there was a regular progression from the delicate cream 
color of the leaders to the deep yellow and tan of the war- 
riors at the end of the line. The arrangement was very 
effective. It would undoubtedly have become monotonous if 
all of the episodes had been handled in the same way but 
this episode followed one with a barbaric display of heavy 
colors and was followed by one costumed in white, purple, 
and tones of purple. The arrangement of tones in the last 
mentioned episode was not progressive but in masses, the 
tones of purple being surrounded by white, with the real 
purple used in the ornamentation of the white garments worn 
by a group at one side of the stage. In the Savannah Cen- 
tennial Pageant, also included in this volume, the costumes 
were largely heirlooms that originally belonged to the 
ancestors of those wearing them in the pageant. From the 
viewpoint of history and of sentiment it was much better that 
these be worn although the artistic effect was not as good 
as though the colors could have been selected with the effect 
of the groups as units in mind. 

The effect of artificial light on color is a matter of great 
importance to the pageant artist if the pageant is to be given 
in the evening. Artificial lighting must be depended upon if 
the performance is given indoors regardless of the time of 
day. Very few buildings are so constructed that an adequate 
amount of properly distributed daylight is available. Here 
another problem for the pageant artist enters. Artificial 
light used to supplement a limited amount of daylight gives 
quite different effects from either artificial light or daylight 
when used alone. The pageant artist must know the effect 
of the light that will be available on the colors selected if the 
result is to be what was desired. Certain lights intensify 



THE ORGANIZATION 23 

blues, yellows, and greens but neutralize reds. Other lights 
intensify reds but neutralize greens and blues. The safest 
plan is to select the colors under the same kind of light that 
will be used. 

Since 19 14, because of many contributing causes, it has 
been very difficult to obtain fabrics for costumes in satisfac- 
tory colors except in very expensive materials. The only 
solution of this difficulty is the dyeing of inexpensive 
materials. The supervision of this work belongs to the 
pageant artist. The Putnam dyes give very beautiful results 
when skillfully mixed. The De Luxe dyes are also very 
satisfactory. The great advantage of the De Luxe dyes 
for inexperienced workers is that a carefully worked out chart 
has been prepared giving exact directions for obtaining any 
tone of any color that may be desired. No other part of the 
work of preparing a pageant is more exacting than the dye- 
ing of fabrics for costumes and for backgrounds but no other 
expenditure of time and energy brings such rich returns in 
increased beauty and effectiveness. 

Costumer. — The costumer will have authority to pre- 
scribe the general scheme of costuming for the different 
episodes and the detailed construction of individual costumes 
according to the color plan worked out by the artist. Due 
regard to historical accuracy must be observed in those 
pageants dealing with local or world history. Accuracy of 
detail may be slighted in mass groupings but the figures that 
stand out from the groups must be accurately enough cos- 
tumed to be convincing. Eternal vigilance in details of this 
sort is the price of success. 

Professional costumers, even the most expensive ones, 
are careless about historical accuracy. They either do not 
know the difference or else they believe that a variation of 
a century or two makes no difference. It is exceedingly 
disconcerting to have, at the last minute when it is too late 
to make corrections, a group of French courtiers in a Joan 
of Arc episode appear in Elizabethan costumes, yet profes- 



24 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

sional costumers, after repeated warnings that exactness was 
desired, have done this and worse. Another difficulty experi- 
enced in renting costumes is that of getting the costumes 
long enough before the time set for a pageant so that dress 
rehearsals may be held and the necessary adjustments made. 
Many of the best costume houses will not send costumes a 
day ahead of the date of the performance unless an extra 
fee is paid. The best costumers are scrupulous about the 
sanitary condition of their costumes but they often send them 
out stained with use, although safe so far as the possibility 
of infection is concerned. If costumes must be rented from 
a professional costumer the only safe way is for the pageant 
costumer and the pageant artist to select, personally, all of 
the costumes that will be used. 

Seamstresses may be employed to make the more impor- 
tant costumes. The expense of this may be borne by the 
pageant committee or by the persons for whom the costumes 
are made. Whoever pays the bills, the seamstresses should 
be under the direction and supervision of the costumer. The 
necessary accuracy and harmony of color and style can be 
secured in no other way. When the pageant is being given 
by a school or when a school forms one of the units of the 
community giving the pageant, the clothing classes of the 
domestic arts department may be willing to take care of the 
making of the costumes. Where this has been done, and 
sufficient time has been allowed to do the work satisfactorily, 
the teachers of such classes have said that no other problem 
has interested the classes so completely nor have the students 
increased their knowledge and ability to such an extent in 
dealing with the rather abstract, unrelated, minor problems 
previously used. The color and style of individual costumes 
are both important but not more so than the way the cos- 
tumes fit. The costumer must give personal attention to 
these details if they are to be properly taken care of and 
completed and since no one person can do all of the cutting 
and the sewing, seamstresses, either professional or volun- 
teer, must be secured. 



THE ORGANIZATION 25 

Musical Director. — The success of the actual per- 
formance depends largely upon the skill and ingenuity of the 
musical director. His preliminary work is also of great 
importance but mistakes there may be corrected while an 
error in the conducting of the actual performance mars the 
whole pageant. The musical director must either select or 
advise concerning the selection of the music to be used. He 
must be willing and able to modify it so that it will form a 
suitable background for the action of the pageant. He must 
be able to so control the orchestra that sudden and unex- 
pected happenings on the stage can be responded to instantly. 
He must also be able, at short notice, to orchestrate a desired 
piece of music from the piano score. 

The more extensive the knowledge of the musical 
director the better able he will be to select appropriate music 
for each of the episodes. The wise director will select music 
that naturally expresses the sentiment of an episode rather 
than some other music the tempo of which must be violated 
in order to bring it into harmony with the episode. Enough 
liberties will need to be taken with the music without care- 
lessly selecting some that could never be appropriate unless 
changed. A competent director would never select an 
intricate example of chamber music to accompany an episode 
the characters of which were peasants. A simple folk-song 
would be much more appropriate and effective. The music 
selected for the entrance of the national groups in Episode 
VIII of the Thanksgiving pageant was in each case the 
appropriate national anthem. In the recessional, however, 
the same music was used for the exit of all, and since the 
reason for the assembling of the nations was a world-wide 
thanksgiving the music selected was the Gloria from 
Haydn's First Mass, not a war march such as would have 
been used had the nations been marching out to war against 
a world wrong. 

The modification of music to suit the pageant episodes is 
practically unavoidable. In the first place music that forms 
the background for the action must end with the action or 



26 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

very shortly after the action ends. The necessity for main- 
taining the tempo of the whole performance makes this 
imperative. To secure this co-ordination the orchestra must 
be ready to end a piece of music quickly and harmoniously 
at the command of the director. This can be justified on the 
ground that the music is not employed to make a separate 
appeal of its own but merely to strengthen the emotional 
appeal made by the action of the pageant. The volume of 
sound must also be regulated by what is happening on the 
stage rather than according to the marks put in by the com- 
poser or sanctioned by custom. This is an added reason for 
care in selecting appropriate music as a background for 
pageant episodes. 

The absolute control of the orchestra that enables the 
conductor to respond to every variation of the action is 
difficult to obtain when dealing with amateurs. It is equally 
or more difficult to obtain with professional musicians since 
they have the habit of expecting to complete any musical 
composition that they once begin. Their attention is habit- 
ually upon the music as custom has determined its interpreta- 
tion. Absolute control is necessary, however, as the orchestra 
must cover up and correct all errors made in the action. 
With the few rehearsals possible when dealing with such 
large numbers of people errors are bound to occur. Then 
the acting being, as it must be, spontaneous in character, no 
two performances will ever be exactly the same and no 
performance will ever take exactly the same amount of time 
as the rehearsals. Watchful waiting describes the attitude 
necessary on the part of a successful musical director when 
conducting for a pageant. 

Very often a director feels that he must use a piece of 
music for which orchestra parts cannot be bought. There is 
no other way but to orchestrate it himself or persuade some 
friend to do it. He will usually do it better, as he will 
know the strength and the weakness of the orchestra and 
so will be able to lean on the one and favor the other. 
Very much of this orchestration would be too great a burden 



THE ORGANIZATION 27 

on the director and since practically all standard music has 
been arranged for orchestra it is much better to buy music 
already arranged unless there is some special reason for 
doing otherwise. 

A word here about the selection of the members of the 
orchestra may not be out of place. Long and varied experi- 
ence indicates the superiority of fairly capable amateurs over 
regular theater orchestra players. Clever amateurs respond 
more readily to the variations in tempo of the pageant 
action, and these variations cannot be avoided without more 
rehearsals than can wisely be called. Amateurs are also 
more inclined to enter into the spirit of the pageant and to 
look upon it as an expression of community life of which they 
are a part. Regular theater musicians are more inclined to 
see in the pageant only a "show" and their playing is, con- 
sequently, more mechanical. It is doubtless more accurate 
but it certainly is more mechanical. 

Scenic Manager. — The business of arranging the 
stage rests, of course, with the scenic manager. He will, 
after the stage has been located for an out-of-door per- 
formance, see that the space is properly rolled, the grass cut, 
shrubs planted to screen entrances, and will put in place 
upon the stage such articles of stage furniture as form a part 
of the stage setting. The nature of the pageant episodes 
must determine the exact location of the stage. For the 
Thanksgiving pageant the stage would better be located in 
front of a building of classical architecture or one having 
very simple, dignified lines, because a majority of the epi- 
sodes either deal with classical figures, as Episodes II and 
III, or else they represent action that took place within 
doors. A formal background, therefore, is better than a 
natural one of shrubs and trees. The crowning of the 
Dauphin in the Cathedral of Rheims depicted in Episode V 
of the same pageant would be exceedingly effective when 
given before a background such as- is indicated above. It 
would lose much of its dignity if it were given with natural 



28 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

greenery as a background. Episode I of this pageant would 
be much more convincing if the background showed only 
shrubs and trees or vistas of open country. The nature of a 
majority of the episodes must determine the nature of the 
background. Voices carry much better when a building is 
used as the background of the stage and this is a matter that 
cannot be ignored as one of the great problems in out-of- 
door pageants is having the lines spoken by the characters 
heard by the audience. A building acts to some extent as a 
sounding board. 

Whatever stage settings are used should be permanent, 
that is, should form an intrinsic part of the stage as required 
by the production. Any changing of scenery between epi- 
sodes detracts materially from the effect. It is difficult to 
recapture the attention of an audience when it has been lost 
through the incongruity of re-arranging the scenery in an 
out-of-door performance. There can be no curtain to hide 
the activities of the stage hands. Even at night, with the 
stage dark, the stage hands will be seen more or less clearly 
and the noise of moving scenery interrupts the continuity of 
impression that the audience is receiving. There is less diffi- 
culty in changing scenes for an indoor performance on a 
regular stage with a drop curtain but even here the effect is 
much better with a neutral setting against which any sort of 
action is convincing. A warm gray fabric that will hang in 
folds is probably the best material with which to cover the 
wings and back drop of a theater stage for a pageant. If 
the pageant deals with out-of-door episodes to a large extent 
a different background would need to be used. But even in 
that case a rather formal arrangement of trees and shrubs 
such as are seen in formal gardens gives a better effect than 
a freer arrangement of greenery. Stage settings can very 
largely be eliminated if the scenic manager has ingenuity and 
imagination. In the Thanksgiving pageant the stage (a 
regular auditorium stage) was hung with a warm gray 
fabric and the only accessories were the throne for the Spirit 
of Thanksgiving, a composite altar at the opposite side of 



THE ORGANIZATION 29 

the stage, and a low, small platform at the rear. Being of 
no particular style or period, the altar could be used without 
offense in Episodes I, III, IV, and V. Standing at the side 
of the stage as it did, it did not obtrude in any of the other 
episodes. The small platform at the rear was used for the 
royal personages in Episode VI and in the other episodes 
only when it was desired to elevate characters at the back 
of a group so that they would not be entirely obscured by 
those in front of them. In Episode VIII it was occupied by 
Serbia and Belgium. There is something very impressive 
about the steady, uninterrupted movement of pageant groups 
as episode follows episode that is lost when the curtain falls 
at the end of each episode for the shifting of scenery. In 
the drama it is often advisable to lower the curtain to 
indicate the passage of time. This is not necessary in a 
pageant as it is taken for granted that long periods of time 
elapse between episodes and since the lapse of time between 
pageant episodes does not have to do with the development 
of an individual character but with an impersonal force or 
a locality personified by the central figures present on the 
stage throughout the performance there is no confusion in 
the minds of the spectators. The announcements of the 
spokesman for the central figures indicate the nature of the 
interval clearly enough for all pageant purposes. A little 
ingenuity on the part of the scenic manager will make it 
possible to avoid the use of a curtain except, perhaps, at the 
beginning and end of the pageant and even in these places it 
can readily be dispensed with if an impressive entrance and 
exit in processional form be arranged. 

The scenic manager may also serve as property man if 
desired, but this work properly belongs to the directors of 
the episodes, each director being responsible for the proper- 
ties of his episode. In case the properties are made up by 
the pageant committee and belong to the pageant organiza- 
tion it is well to have a property man who will check the 
properties out to the episode directors just before the per- 
formance and then check them in again at the end of each 



30 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

performance. These episode properties should include such 
articles of stage furniture as are absolutely essential to the 
action of the episode but which cannot be made a part of the 
permanent stage setting. They must be taken onto the stage, 
placed in position, and at the end of the episode taken off the 
stage again by persons who are in the cast of characters for 
the episode; slaves, pages, and the like. In Episode VI of 
the Savannah Centennial Pageant the older pupils of the 
dancing class carried benches in for the pupils to sit on. 
This was done as soon as the Herald had finished the lines 
introducing the episode. After the benches were in place 
the pupils assembled and then the dancing master entered. 
At the close of the episode after dancing master and pupils 
had passed from the stage the same older pupils carried the 
benches off again. This did not seem at all incongruous, as 
the arranging of a room is to be expected when it is to be 
used for a specific purpose. In Episode III of the Thanks- 
giving pageant Augustus carries in his hands the brazier in 
which is burning the incense for the altar of Jove. He 
places it upon the altar as a praise-offering. At the end of 
the episode he, with due ceremonial, again lifts the brazier 
from the altar and carefully bears it away, taking his place 
in the group as it leaves the stage. 

Electrician. — If the pageant is to be given at night or 
indoors at any time of day a person interested in the artistic 
effect of the pageant and who knows something of electrical 
lighting of stages should be selected as electrician. This 
person must give time enough to the pageant, attending 
rehearsals, having conferences with the pageant master, etc., 
to thoroughly familiarize himself with the lighting effects 
desired and when and how they are to be secured. Profes- 
sional electricians may have to be employed to work the 
switchboard but they will need the supervision of such an 
electrician as is indicated above if any other than the con- 
ventional theater effects are desired. The electrician will 
constantly consult and be constantly consulted by the pageant 



THE ORGANIZATION 31 

master, the pageant artist, the costumer, and the scenic 
manager. In this way color effects beautiful beyond expecta- 
tion will be secured. 

In a large out-of-door pageant given in Jefferson City, 
Missouri, in- June of 191 8, with the approach to the capitol 
building for a stage, the lighting apparatus had to be 
installed in "crows' nests" built twenty feet from the ground 
on electric light poles. The professional electricians who 
must manage the lights could not spare time to learn just 
where and how the lights were to be used. A supervisor 
for each operator was trained. They stayed in the "crows' 
nests" with the operators all through the performance. 
Many of the entrances were along balustraded terraces lead- 
ing to the main entrance to the building, in other words, to 
the stage. These entrances were started thirty or forty rods 
from the stage and had to be lighted with spots. Because of 
the presence of the supervisors with the operators not a 
single entrance was missed. The lights picked up the figures 
at exactly the right moment and followed them steadily. 

Theater electricians have a strong predilection for the 
spot light with its sharply defined margin. A tactful super- 
visor can often persuade him that it is good technique to use 
the spot to accentuate a special figure on a brightly lighted 
stage without turning off all of the other lights. In this 
way the spot loses its hard brilliance and prismatic margin 
and simply emphasizes the desired figure by intensifying the 
light upon it. Tact, next to some knowledge of lighting of 
stages, is the quality most to be desired in the electrician, of 
whom we have been speaking as "supervisor" of the elec- 
trical operator. Tact will often secure results not to be 
achieved by mere knowledge. One may know that a bunch 
or flood light placed in a certain way in the wings will give a 
certain effect but it often requires tact on the part of an 
amateur to persuade the operator that it is better to use it so, 
with the stage lights on, than in the conventional way. 

No particular color effects were attempted in either of 
the pageants included in this volume when these effects would 



32 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

depend upon electrical lighting. The building used in each 
case was not well equipped for special effects and the pageant 
artist was not familiar with lighting devices. It seemed 
better to use a steady, soft light throughout the pageant, 
depending on careful selection of colors for costumes for 
effects, rather than to attempt unusual electrical effects when 
there was a possibility of failure. In the Thanksgiving 
pageant a flood light was so placed in the wings behind the 
group of central figures that it gave a halo effect to the 
group, while a similar flood on the opposite side illuminated 
the figures that stood near the altar. There are many simple 
devices that can be arranged when the electrical supervisor 
is interested and is familiar with the details of the per- 
formance. 

Advertising Manager. — However carefully a pageant 
may have been planned and however complete the organiza- 
tion may be it will not be a really successful pageant unless 
a large number of people see the performance. To ensure 
this the services of an advertising manager or publicity agent 
must be secured. He will see that notices are given to the 
newspapers concerning any items that will have news value 
% such as names of persons taking important parts, lists of 
historical articles that will be used as properties, costumes 
handed down for generations that will be worn, or anything 
that will attract attention and stimulate interest. He will 
also see that neighboring towns are supplied with suitable 
posters and that arrangements, such as parking space for 
automobiles, are made and advertised for caring for the out 
of town attendance. 

Advertising in the town where a pageant is to be given 
will take care of itself, largely, unless it is a very large city. 
The organization described in this chapter will ensure the 
interest of practically every group of people in the city. The 
large number of people in the cast also ensures an unusual 
amount- of very practical advertising. It is well, however, 
for the advertising manager to supplement all this with 



THE ORGANIZATION 33 

some formal advertising matter that will attract the attention 
of strangers and will give definite information as to admis- 
sion fees and time and place of performances. The news 
items in the local papers are of value, but it is usually con- 
sidered essential to have some paid advertising. This is 
sometimes taken care of through the courtesy of regular 
advertisers in the local papers. The space they use ordinarily 
is frequently donated for the use of the pageant. The 
pageant gets free advertising space in this way and at the 
same time the firm donating the space gets rather more 
advertising than as though a regular advertisement had 
occupied the space. 

The items that will have news value in one city will have 
no news value in another. The advertising manager must, 
therefore, know his city and also the type of item that the 
papers will consider of value. In one city the local papers 
are always willing and even eager to print lists of names of 
all who take any part in a pageant and will use practically all 
of the pictures that are supplied. In another city such lists 
of names are considered as having no news value and only 
the names of persons taking important parts will be used. 
In certain places of historical distinction items concerning 
heirlooms that are to be used in the pageant are welcomed. 
There is an educational value of a sort in this kind of news 
item. Relics of pioneer days that are seldom exhibited 
publicly have historical significance and news items calling 
attention to them help advertise the pageant and at the same 
time renew an interest in the things that served the needs 
of earlier generations. It is worth while to have relics 
exhibited in shop windows during the time of preparation 
for the pageant. In the case of the Savannah Centennial 
Pageant several of the largest stores in the city gave the use 
of their show windows. Articles of wearing apparel for 
men, women, and children were borrowed from the descend- 
ants of those who wore them a hundred years ago and 
exhibited. Pictures of the people of note in the settlement 
and development of the colony were loaned for exhibition. 



34 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

Various household utensils were also shown. These things 
might have been exhibited in the historical museum of the 
city for years without being seen by a small part of the 
number who looked at them carefully in these shop windows. 
At the same time the pageant was very effectively adver- 
tised. 

Advertising a pageant in the neighboring territory is an 
essential part of the duty of an advertising manager. The 
best medium for this is probably the poster that has been 
made by persons with some artistic ability or by pupils in 
the public schools under the direction of the drawing 
teachers. Here again there is some educational value in the 
work as well as an effective means of advertising. The 
making of posters involving as it does lettering and design 
as well as work in colors is a part of the regular course in 
the public school art departments. The students have an 
immediate interest in the posters that are to be actually used 
for advertising purposes while their interest is only mediate 
if they are asked to design posters that are not to be used for 
a definite purpose. Posters made in this way are much more 
distinctive than printed ones and attract much more attention. 
We are so accustomed to all kinds of printed posters used in 
advertising that we give real attention only to those that are 
especially attractive or very unusual. Where large numbers 
of posters are needed it is probably well to have outline 
sheets printed and have this outlined design filled in with 
colors. The printed matter may also be done on a press 
instead of by hand if time is lacking or if large numbers are 
desired. 

A very attractive advertising plan is implied in the sug- 
gestion that the advertising manager arrange for out of 
town attendance. So many people motor rather long dis- 
tances that a well advertised arrangement for the parking 
of cars, free, will attract a large number of persons from 
extensive areas. A rather delicate compliment is involved 
that will do much to further and extend a community spirit. 
The fact that the pageant officers desire the attendance of 



THE ORGANIZATION 35 

persons who must motor in and that they take the trouble to 
arrange for their convenience while in the city is a great 
incentive for them to attend not only the particular pageant 
in question but to form associations that will bring them 
back frequently. Certain restaurants may be persuaded to 
make special terms to holders of pageant tickets or some 
local organization like the Y. M. C. A. or the Y. W. C. A. 
may establish cafeteria service for the convenience of those 
attending. If such service is planned and advertised, and 
those arranging for it are satisfied with a small margin of 
profit it will do much to advertise the pageant. It will do 
more, probably, to advertise the friendly spirit of the city 
and thus contribute to a mutual understanding and establish 
a good basis for future intercourse. 

Episode Directors. — The last of the pageant officers, 
but by no means the least when considered from the stand- 
point of the success of the pageant, are the episode directors. 
Each episode should have some one person named as 
director and if the cast for the episode is unusually large or 
if the action is subdivided in a very marked way two or even 
three directors should be appointed. Each should be respon- 
sible for a certain very definite part of the episode and should 
be the final authority, under the pageant master, for the 
group assigned to him. The reason for this clearly marked 
division of authority is the impossibility of any one person 
taking care of the details connected with more than one 
group of characters. 

Each episode director, together with the pageant master, 
selects the cast for that episode and under the direction of 
the pageant master plans the action of the episode. He 
must see that the members of his group attend the rehearsals 
that are called, that they are prompt at these rehearsals, that 
they remain together and quiet in the place appointed for 
them at the general rehearsals, and that at the actual per- 
formance each individual in the group is ready for his 
entrance at the proper time and that each individual is prop- 



36 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

erly costumed and is supplied with the necessary properties. 
In fact each episode director is a stage manager for his 
episode. All the responsibility for the success of his episode 
rests upon him and this is no slight matter. The manner in 
which episode directors live up to the responsibilities of their 
office determines, in a final analysis, the success of the pro- 
duction. Another duty which must be performed by the 
episode director is the writing of the description of his 
episode as a basis for the work of the author of the pageant 
book or of its editor. This implies the writing of the 
book according to the plan described in the chapter fol- 
lowing. 

The various and exacting duties cited as devolving upon 
the episode director indicate the reason for limiting the 
number of people for whom he is responsible. The one 
burden of telephoning instructions as to rehearsals would 
become monumental if a large number of persons were on 
each episode director's list. Of course the number of char- 
acters in an episode will vary with the pageant. A variation 
of from twenty to two hundred is not at all uncommon. 
Should the cast for any one episode be very large the director 
will need assistants for telephoning and similar duties. The 
wise director will have announcements concerning the whole 
cast made when all are together in order to save so much 
telephoning, but it will not be possible to avoid a large 
amount of it. Then at rehearsals it will require a very 
determined director to keep his group together and quiet 
enough so that there will be no loss of time when the 
pageant master is ready for them. 

An episode director will usually select the cast for his 
episode from his own circle of acquaintances. It may be that 
he must look for a peculiar type of person and hence must 
search through the whole city. His troubles are apt to be 
fewer if he is working with people whom he knows rather 
well, as he then knows who can be depended upon to do as 
they should without too constant supervision. Rather close 
supervision must be maintained under the most favorable 






THE ORGANIZATION 37 

of circumstances, hence it is to the advantage of the director 
to reduce it to a minimum through selecting responsible 
persons for the cast. The pageant master will probably 
have the details of the pageant as a whole much more clearly 
in mind than will any one director and so can select more 
wisely for the principal characters of the episodes but he 
should be limited to those persons selected by the episode 
director except under unusual circumstances. The most 
satisfactory way is for the episode director to invite the 
persons whom he wishes for his episode to meet the pageant 
master and then through a simple process of try-outs the 
particular persons best suited to particular parts can be 
selected. 

The episode director has the primary responsibility in 
the costuming of his characters. He will receive his instruc- 
tions from the costumer and the pageant artist and then 
must see that the individual characters carry out these 
instructions. This is no small task as there are always well 
intentioned people who think they have costumes that will 
do very well and in the kindness of their hearts insist upon 
wearing them or loaning them to some person in the cast. 
Nine times out of ten such costumes are not at all suited to 
the particular need of that episode. Another difficulty over 
costumes is that some people invariably wait until the last 
minute to get theirs ready and then there is no time left for 
the almost inevitable corrections. 

The properties occasion much perplexity to the episode 
director. Each character should be expected to provide the 
necessary properties but here, as in costuming, diversity of 
opinion as to what is suited to the episode often brings about 
embarrassing situations. When a person has gone to some 
expense and considerable trouble to get a needed piece of 
property he is naturally displeased if it is not considered 
suitable. When there is time, and money, available it is 
much better for the pageant master to have all the properties 
made up and issued to the episode directors or directly to the 
cast just before they are to be used and checked in again at the 



38 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

end of each performance. The matter of swords, when they 
are needed, will illustrate this point. A modern military 
sword or knights-templar sword would not do at all for a 
warrior in a primitive episode nor in an episode with Greeks 
of the age of Pericles forming the cast. Yet, if left to them- 
selves, the majority of persons would get such a sword for 
these parts. When a sword is to be the symbol of all swords 
rather than a particular sword the integrity of the character- 
ization is marred if the sword carried is obviously of the 
style of 1 86 1, 1812, or 1776. A painted wooden sword 
with a straight cross hilt is much more convincing than a 
modern cavalry sword in the hands of a feudal knight. 
What is true of swords is true also to a large extent of all 
pageant properties. They must be in keeping with the age 
represented by the episode or else they make a false note 
that is difficult to overcome by excellence of acting. When- 
ever a piece of property used on the stage attracts attention 
that should be centered on the acting it is inappropriate and 
should be replaced by something that will contribute to the 
general effect and not destroy the whole scheme of relative 
values. 

The episode director should bear the same relation to 
the cast of characters for his episode that a stage manager 
bears to the actors in a regular play. He is responsible for 
them and for every detail of the episode to the pageant 
master. If things go wrong with his episode he is the one 
that is blamed. An episode director who is careless or 
indifferent will find his own inefficiency reflected in his episode. 
Experienced pageant masters claim to be able to classify 
episode directors as efficient or otherwise by watching the 
way the details of management are taken care of in the 
different episodes of a pageant. 

If, in reading this chapter, one is impressed with the 
assertion with regard to the pageant officers that the success 
of the pageant rests ultimately upon each of these several 
officers, this rather contradictory position can be definitely 
maintained. A pageant is so essentially a community affair 



THE ORGANIZATION 39 

that the sort of organization best suited to bring it to a suc- 
cessful issue is the one that makes each individual officer 
responsible for a definite indispensable part of the whole 
pageant. If an indispensable part of a pageant fails, to 
exactly that extent has the pageant failed. 



III. THE BOOK 

There are two ways of preparing the book of a pageant. 
It may be written by a professional author, a ready made 
product, as it were, or it may be worked out as a community 
project by the episode directors and the author or editor. 
Since this book is written from the standpoint of community 
projects the latter is the method preferred. 

The pageant committee, having been selected to organize 
the community for the production of a pageant, is by reason 
of this fact usually instructed with regard to the nature or 
theme of the pageant to be presented. For example, the 
committee appointed to have charge of the Savannah Cen- 
tennial Pageant presented by the Savannah Festival 
Association of Savannah, Georgia, April 24, 19 19, knew 
from the time of its appointment that the pageant it 
arranged must show noteworthy events of Savannah 
one hundred years ago. The general theme was at 
hand, ready made. The task of the committee was to 
decide exactly which of these notable events would best lend 
themselves to pageant presentation and would at the same 
time show the important happenings of the early years of 
the colony in historical perspective. 

Title. — So, with all pageant committees, the general 
theme, the title of the book, one might say, is selected by 
the community or by the group which is giving the pageant. 
The title of the book is selected for the committee. The 
committee must, however, decide upon the particular epi- 
sodes or events to be presented. The names of these events 
or episodes become the chapter headings of the pageant book. 

Author. — As soon as the episodes have been decided 

40 



THE BOOK 41 

upon the episode directors must be appointed if they have 
not already been selected. This is as important from the 
standpoint of the pageant book as from that of the actual 
presentation of the pageant. Efficient directors are essential 
if the book is to be of real value. Even before the cast is 
selected the episode director must sketch out the general 
plan of the action of his episode. The episode directors, 
together with the pageant master, arrange, as before indi- 
cated, for the manner in which the episodes are to be pre- 
sented. Each episode director then writes a fairly detailed 
description of his episode and submits this, with the cast of 
characters for his episode, to the person who is to write the 
pageant book. Actually, the author writes only a small part 
of the book. He usually writes the lines of the central 
figures or of their spokesman and edits or revises the 
material concerning the individual episodes that has been 
handed in by the episode directors. Strictly speaking the 
term author is a misnomer since the finished book is the 
result of the labor of so many people, yet there is no 
attempt or intention in this to claim credit for work done 
by other people. Perhaps editor would be a better term, 
and yet that misses the exact truth almost as far as the other. 
Since it seems to be generally understood that in a pageant 
that is a community project this is the customary procedure, 
there really is no misrepresentation in using the term author. 
As a matter of fact it is often necessary to rewrite practically 
all of the episode descriptions in order to achieve unity of 
style and form. 

To be strictly logical in carrying out the community idea 
the episode director would first select his characters or at 
least he would select them after working out with the 
pageant master the important points in the action of the 
episode. Then he would call his group together and they, 
advised by the episode director and the pageant master, 
would discuss and decide upon the details of the action. In 
other words the persons taking the parts would actually 
decide by the laboratory method upon the way in which the 



42 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

events with which the episode deals is to be presented. In 
actual practice this works very well when there is time 
enough to experiment. A more intelligent interest is sure 
to be developed on the part of the cast and the actual per- 
formance will be that much better. The community spirit 
will also be developed and will last beyond the pageant and 
will function to an appreciable extent in other civic activities. 
Then the episode director has an outline for his description 
of the episode that is to be turned in to the author. 

The pageant master is usually the one who acts as author 
or editor in civic pageants. There is a distinct advantage in 
this when he has the ability to use sincere dignified English. 
He would probably spend as much time in acquiring a 
working knowledge of the details of the book if it were 
written by some other person as it would take to write it 
himself. The one essential point is that the person who 
writes the book must have a very complete command of the 
English language and must have a high conception of the 
nature and function of pageantry. 

It is to be readily admitted that a quite different method 
of writing the book may be followed. The person who 
writes the book may do all of the work himself from cen- 
ceiving the pageant as a whole to designating all of the 
details of how the episodes are to be acted. He may not be 
a member of the community giving the pageant. He may 
not even visit the community while he is working on the 
book. In this case the author would write the book without 
consulting anybody else and when it is finished the pageant 
master would simply assign to each episode director the 
description of his episode and the director and the cast would 
have no opportunity for initiative in the matter at all. They 
would only follow instructions. 

An example of a very effective dramatic work that has 
been given pageant treatment is The Pilgrim and the Book 
written for the Pilgrim tercentenary celebration by Percy 
Mackaye in the manner described above. It is very proper 
that a pageant designed for use in any church in any. part 
of the country desiring to observe this centennial should be 



THE BOOK 43 

written in this way. Ordinary rules do not hold under such 
unusual circumstances. A ready made pageant of this gen- 
eral character is undoubtedly better than one on the same 
subject that could be worked up locally. Local writers of 
Mr. Mackaye's ability are very uncommon and since the 
theme is general it is better that it be handled by an expert. 
It is only the local historical pageant that is so intrinsically 
a community project and therefore to be developed as such. 

The dramatist and the literary critic will very likely 
consider the writing by an experienced author the best way 
in which a pageant book may be prepared, and it will result 
in closer dramatic unity. It has, however, made the pageant 
that much less of a community project and has robbed the 
members of the community of that avenue of self expression. 
Since spontaneous self expression of individuals working in 
groups is the real essence of and excuse for pageants, we 
are constrained to follow the more democratic method of 
assembling the book and then having it edited. Even the 
general pageant that does not deal with local history may 
be used to advantage as a medium for community work. 
When this democratic method is followed there is a rather 
intangible something infused into the acting and into the 
book that inspires a wonderful feeling of solidarity among 
the pageant workers which carries across and affects an 
audience. 

The author or editor of the pageant book has more to 
do than merely to collate the work of the episode directors. 
He must furnish the main plot or, more correctly speaking, 
the main thread of continuity, however slender it may be, 
upon which the episodes are strung. Without this principal 
theme or thread of continuity running through all of the 
episodes and binding them together there would be con- 
fusion and loss of interest. It seems hardly fair to this 
dramatic form to select a number of totally unrelated scenes 
and call the aggregation a pageant. There should always 
be some unifying idea that relates and binds together what 
might otherwise become almost entirely dissociated bits of 
action through a haphazard method of working out each 



44 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

episode. A convenient device for thus binding together the 
episodes is a small group of figures, symbolic in character, 
personifying the community or impersonal forces such as 
Hope, Despair, or Truth, which remain on the stage 
throughout the pageant and review the episodes, relating 
each to the main theme as it passes. The author must, of 
course, write the lines for these central figures. They may 
well be given the exposition or argument of the pageant as a 
sort of prologue with other lines introducing and explaining 
very briefly and not too obviously the action of each episode 
as it is to be presented. 

In the Savannah Centennial Pageant this group of 
central figures included the Spirit of Savannah with six 
attendant female figures, two heralds, and eight buglers; 
the Spirit of the River with attendant waves; nymphs; 
dryads; and the ten years, 1 8 19-1829. This is a much larger 
group than is ordinarily used. A very few lines were given 
to the Spirit of Savannah, but throughout the greater part 
of the pageant two Heralds, standing at the front against 
the arch, acted as spokesmen for the group. In the Thanks- 
giving pageant the Spirit of Thanksgiving, Hope, and 
Despair, spoke all of the lines of the central group. They 
had attendants and buglers but no lines were given to any 
of them. The buglers acted in both of these pageants as 
the official announcers of the approach of episode groups 
or as attendants of the principal figures calling upon the 
different episode groups to appear. Regular bugle calls 
were used but they were given a tempo less rapid than is 
common when they are used for military purposes. At the 
command of the central figures the buglers on the stage 
would sound an appropriate call which would be repeated by 
the buglers stationed at the entrance where the group was 
to appear. Such a formal announcement of the approach 
of an episode group seems to hold and concentrate the atten- 
tion of the audience, and when it is well done it is very 
impressive. An added device for unifying the action of the 
different groups in the Thanksgiving pageant was the use of 



THE BOOK 45 

attendants, two for each episode, who were stationed at the 
different entrances and who conducted the groups to the 
stage and then off again at the end of the episodes. 

Language of the Book. — An indication of the sort of 
language considered suitable for a pageant book was given 
in the paragraph dealing with the qualifications necessary 
for the author of a pageant book. The events which make 
suitable material for pageant treatment are of more than 
ordinary significance. They are the great moments in the 
history of a people or of a community. The treatment of 
them must be in keeping with the character of the events. 
This will exclude from the pageant book all merely smart or 
colloquial language. What is ordinarily considered as the 
comic element will be excluded for the same reason. 
Comedy and the language of comedy have little or no place 
in the exalted experiences of the life of a community or a 
nation. Sincerity and dignity should be the dominant notes 
in the language of a pageant book. Not only the lines of 
the characters but the descriptions of the episodes should be 
in this same dignified, almost austere, style. Any other style 
seems trivial by contrast with the events depicted. 

Variety may be obtained by using songs in chorus or solo 
arrangement, dances that are appropriate and that belong 
intrinsically to the action, and some few lines by the principal 
characters. These devices are to be used sparingly, how- 
ever, if an effect of continuity is to be secured. 

A very common error of authors of pageant books is that 
of making use of too much dialogue. Anything that par- 
takes of the nature of conversation becomes trivial by com- 
parison with the breadth and scope of a dignified, worthy 
expression of the life of a community. Anything conceived 
on so large a scale, anything making use of such masses of 
characters, must not be belittled by ordinary conversation 
between actors. It must be sustained and dignified by the 
oratorical and the declamatory. Hence the author will do 
well to make the lines of his central figures not mere dialogue 



46 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

but the expressions of lofty emotions that may be fittingly 
expressed in tones loud enough to be heard to the limits of 
the out-of-door auditorium. The lines of these figures 
should not be allowed to become incongruous because of the 
lack of proportion between the volume of voice used and the 
nature of the words so expressed. A few short, well-written 
speeches of the kind indicated are sufficient to carry along 
the story of practically any pageant. Dialogue of any length, 
even were it desirable, could not be sustained in a voice loud 
enough to carry beyond the front rows of seats. As a result 
the audience would become restless and its attention would 
waver. Attention thus lost is difficult to regain. 

A single example may be cited. The prologue of a 
very beautiful pageant presented in the open-air municipal 
theater of a large city and enacted by an actor and actress of 
national renown lost much of its effect because the effect 
depended too much upon the lines which could not be heard 
beyond the first quarter of the seats. The audience became 
restless; read newspapers, and entered into half-audible 
conversation with neighbors. The attention thus allowed to 
wander was never completely regained and the inspiring 
message of a beautiful pageant was lost to three-quarters 
of the immense audience. 

What is true of the central figures is also true to a 
greater extent of the characters in the episodes. They 
should seldom be given any lines. Like the small boy of 
proverbial fame, they are more effective when seen and not 
heard. There is something unexpectedly impressive about 
the silent, steady progress of episode after episode played 
against a background of appropriate music, each introduced 
by only essential explanation or left to explain itself through 
the action. Even the printed description of the episodes in 
the pageant book should be as brief and concise as possible 
without neglecting the essential features. The audience 
should be able to read all that pertains to an episode in so 
short a time that they will not miss anything of importance 
in the action. 



THE BOOK 47 

Those lines in the pageant book that are to be spoken by 
the different characters might well be printed in a different 
kind of type from that used for descriptive matter. In the 
Savannah Centennial Pageant the lines of the principal char- 
acters were printed in italics. The only departure from this is 
that the lines of Savannah at the opening of the pageant are 
in ordinary type but widely spaced. The reader soon becomes 
accustomed to this arrangement and can follow the lines 
or can distinguish the parts of the book that deal with the 
episode action without loss of time. In the same way the 
type used for the descriptive material is different from that 
used for the casts of characters. The cast of the central 
figures is put in different type from that of the episode casts 
but there is no reason for confusion in that as there is no 
other kind of material on the page with the cast of the 
principal characters in this particular book. Ordinarily it 
would be better to use the same type for all casts of char- 
acters. These or similar devices should be used in all 
pageant books to distinguish clearly between the different 
kinds of material included so that confusion and vain search- 
ing for specific information on the part of the spectators may 
be avoided. 

Content of the Book. — The pageant book will con- 
tain, then, the lines of the central figures, the descriptions 
of the different episodes, the words of whatever songs are 
used, the cast of characters for each episode, the cast of the 
central figures, the list of pageant officers, the pageant com- 
mittee, the programme of music, the names of the members of 
the orchestra, a list of the episodes, and a foreword indi- 
cating the purpose and aims of the community in presenting 
the pageant. The person who writes the foreword and the 
lines of the central figures and who edits the descriptions of 
the episodes is conventionally termed the author. Quota- 
tions and original lines by episode directors or others are 
usually acknowledged in foot-notes. 

The order in which these items should be arranged is a 



4 8 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

matter for debate. A very good arrangement places the 
pageant committee, the author, and the pageant officers on 
the first page, the names of the members of the orchestra on 
the second, a list of the episodes with the directors assigned 
to each on the next, the cast of the central figures next, then 
the episodes with the cast for each following in order, and 
last the musical programme by episodes. The foreword would 
probably better be placed first of all instead of between the 
lists of officers and the episode descriptions. It is well to 
have the reader informed concerning the aims of the com- 
munity in giving the pageant before he is informed as to 
the persons who are carrying out the ideas of the community 
and the manner in which they propose to carry them out 

Style of the Book. — There has been great diversity 
in the style of pageant books gotten out for different 
pageants. The book of the Savannah Centennial Pageant 
is included in this volume in its original form. This pamphlet 
of twenty-four pages contains all of the material used in the 
pageant except the words of the song in Episode I, a few 
lines of dialogue in Episode II, the words of the song in 
Episode III, the address in Episode V, and the words of the 
song in Episode VII. These items should have been 
included but the material was not ready in time. The book 
does not follow exactly the order suggested in the preceding 
paragraph. It would doubtless have gained in clearness had 
it been so arranged. Page one would not be readily under- 
stood except by one who had helped with the pageant. This 
arrangement was due to the fact that the formal pageant in 
the city auditorium was preceded by a street pageant in 
which the order of grouping was that given on page one, 
with the exception of the last two groups. Ordinarily a 
book of this size is entirely adequate for the material that 
really needs to be included in a pageant book. No book was 
printed for the Thanksgiving pageant because of lack of 
funds. A four-page programme with a brief synopsis of the 
episodes and the cast of characters was printed and dis- 



THE BOOK 49 

tributed. Unless a pageant book is printed it is necessary to 
have a programme similar to this one. Such programmes 
should contain as brief a statement as possible of the different 
episodes, the casts of characters for the episodes and the cast 
of the central figures. Only the most important of the pageant 
officers can be included and the names of the members of the 
orchestra may have to be omitted. The programme of music 
by episodes will have to be omitted, also. The description 
of each episode should be confined to a single sentence when 
possible. None of the lines of any of the characters can be 
included. 

The programme of the Thanksgiving pageant precedes the 
words of the pageant in the present volume, and is a fair 
sample of what such programmes should be. The programme 
of the Jefferson City pageant which precedes the programme 
of the Thanksgiving pageant is much the same except that it 
has no episode descriptions. These were not necessary as 
pageant books were available. This was one of those 
pageants of general appeal written by a regular author; the 
ready made pageant spoken of earlier in the chapter. Being 
printed by a commercial publisher for use in many different 
places the books contained nothing but the words of the 
pageant and it was necessary to have programmes with the 
cast of characters printed. There was, however, no need for 
episode descriptions to be included as the books contained 
full descriptions of the episodes. 

The book will gain in clearness if the paging of the epi- 
sodes is so arranged that each episode description can begin 
at the top of a page. This is particularly appropriate since 
the episode description together with the cast of characters 
for it is to be treated as a chapter of a book is treated. No 
printer would begin a new chapter of a book in the middle 
of a page and yet many of them will start a new episode 
description in the middle of a page as readily as at the top 
of a new page. The reason for this is especially obscure 
because each episode description is given a title and is num- 
bered with Roman numerals as chapter headings are always 



5 o THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

indicated in books. Separating the episode descriptions by 
proper paging is an aid to the audience in following the story 
of the pageant as the action progresses. Less attention is 
taken from the action itself when episode divisions are thus 
clearly indicated. 

Many pageant books have been made exceedingly 
elaborate with half-tone or colored illustrations. They often 
run into a large number of pages, ninety-six to one hundred 
forty-eight. Books of this kind are very expensive to 
issue and must be sold for comparatively large prices. It is, 
however, a very decided advantage to have half-tones of the 
different pageant groups and of the important characters 
used to illustrate the text of the pageant. Even in a book of 
twenty-four pages a few of these half-tones may be included 
if costumes can be made ready in time. It takes from four 
to seven days to get the plates made after the pictures are 
taken. Allowing only a week for the printer to get out the 
books this means that any group whose picture is to appear 
in the book must be completely cast and costumed at least 
two weeks before the date for the pageant. This seems 
very simple at first sight but experience shows it to be an 
almost impossible task. Line drawings are much easier to 
prepare as the pageant artist can make the drawings while 
the costumes are being made and it takes a much shorter 
time to get the zinc plates made than the copper ones used 
for the half-tones. Books illustrated with the line drawings 
are very interesting and much less expensive to publish. 
They lack the personal appeal of the pictures of the people 
who take the parts in the pageant and it is this personal 
appeal that influences the sale of the books. 

A book of twenty-four or even forty-eight pages could 
be gotten out in 191 6 for from seventy-five to ninety dollars 
a thousand with a reduction for the second and subsequent 
thousands. These books would be printed on a fair quality 
of paper and would have heavy paper covers printed with 
an appropriate cover design. At this price it was possible to 
sell the books for ten cents a copy and make a little money 



THE BOOK 51 

on them. The book of the Savannah Centennial Pageant 
was sold for ten cents a copy but that was not enough to 
cover the cost of the printing which had advanced greatly 
since 19 16. The pageant committee considered that it was 
better to sell the books at a small loss than to charge more 
for them and so reduce the sales. They wanted everybody 
who attended the pageant to have a book for reference dur- 
ing the performance. 

It is usually found necessary to sell the pageant books 
as copies of the libretto of an opera are sold. A much better 
plan would be to distribute them freely as theater programmes 
are distributed in this country but the cost of printing usually 
prohibits this and they must be sold for enough to pay for 
the printing. Since they contain the cast of characters and 
may contain half-tones of groups or of individual characters 
or line drawings illustrating the episodes they become valu- 
able souvenirs of the pageant. Such books, containing con- 
siderable historical material, often become really valuable 
documents after only a few years. 

No advertisements of any kind should be used in the 
pageant book. It is essentially inappropriate to use them, 
as they would spoil the artistic quality of the book and to 
some extent impair its historical value, as well. Even 
pageant programmes are better with no advertisements in 
them to distract the attention of the audience. The only 
excuse for using advertisements on such programmes is that 
the money for them will reimburse the pageant committee 
for the cost of the programmes. Economy in some other 
place would better be exercised and the programmes as well 
as the pageant books left free from advertising matter of 
any kind. 

Sale of the Books. — If the pageant books can be 
gotten out several days before the date set for the pageant 
they serve as valuable advertising material. They should be 
put on sale in the book stores and music stores, at the places 
where the tickets are for sale, and at special booths arranged 



52 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

in the post office and other public buildings or wherever 
many people pass in the course of the day. On the day of 
the pageant persons from the cast, in costume, should be 
assigned to the approaches to the pageant grounds, and to 
the inside of the grounds as well, to sell the books. Ushers, 
boy scouts, girl scouts, and camp-fire girls may sell the books 
if preferred but the person in costume appeals to the 
imagination of the people in the audience and stimulates 
interest in the pageant. The salesmen in costume help create 
an atmosphere, if we may use that much worked word. Of 
course, when the pageant begins, the sale of books must stop 
except as it can be done quietly and unobtrusively by the 
ushers. 

Nothing has been said about who should be responsible 
for the handling of the pageant books. In some cases the 
advertising manager is able and willing to do that in addition 
to his other duties. The business manager is also willing to 
undertake the sale in some cases. Considerable experience 
seems to prove that it is much better to have some person 
with no other duties of any nature appointed to have entire 
control of the sale of books. A person with no other duties 
is able to give his entire attention to this rather difficult task 
and so carry it through to a successful completion. The 
successful conclusion is not so much the making of money 
from the sale of the books as it is to so manage the sale that 
practically everyone who attends the pageant will have a 
book for reference during the performance. 

Editing the Book. — The editing, as such, consists in 
unifying the style of the episode descriptions and making 
uniform the lists of names and casts of characters. It is a 
difficult matter to secure uniformity in these details and 
hence the task should be given into the hands of a person 
who at least knows the language of printers. If a very care- 
fully typed copy be given to the printer his labors are greatly 
minimized. Very good printers who take a pride in their 
work will attend to the details mentioned better than a per- 



THE BOOK 53 

son not familiar with the trade can do. The author should 
consult the printer constantly or arrange to have the printer 
consult him when in doubt as to the way any detail of the 
book such as paging and spacing of names is to be arranged. 
With the hundreds of names listed in a pageant book errors 
are very difficult to detect. The proof should be read care- 
fully by at least two persons and each episode director should 
read the proof for his episode. Even with this precaution 
one need not be surprised to discover errors and omissions 
in the book when issued. The errors and omissions are 
always those that are the hardest to explain and when names 
are omitted it usually happens that they are the names of all 
names that should have been included if misunderstandings 
were to be avoided. For the Thanksgiving pageant several 
marines were coming at their own expense from a post some 
distance away to take part in Episodes VIII and IX. Their 
names were omitted from the preliminary programme printed 
the day before the pageant was to be given and it took three 
hours of long distance telephoning to straighten out the diffi- 
culty. Under such circumstances the persons who read the 
proof would better not try to explain. It is much simpler 
in the end to admit the fault and express regret, even if there 
is a real excuse for the error. 

Need for the Book.— Why has it been taken for 
granted that a pageant book is essential? Because a 
pageant, contrary to general opinion with regard to the 
drama, gains in effect if the audience is taken into the con« 
fidence of the pageant group and is informed as to what 
is to be seen and the significance of it. A pageant is, by the 
nature of pageantry, a very broad sketchy treatment of 
events or forces, any detail of which might well form the 
plot of a full-length drama. It is, therefore, in the nature 
of an intensification of the impression made if the action on 
the stage is supplemented, or even anticipated, by the 
pageant book. The tradition that the audience would better 
be ignorant of what was to be seen and heard in the theater 



54 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

grew up before the day of published plays. Now that many 
plays are offered for sale in printed form before they are 
ever produced on the stage this tradition is going the way of 
many traditions that grew up under former conditions. 
Many actors now r maintain that the ideal audience is the one 
that is familiar with the play that is being given. They claim 
that such an audience listens more intelligently and responds 
more promptly than an audience that is in suspense as to the 
trend of the action. This change of attitude cannot be placed 
entirely to the account of the printed play by any means. 
There has been a corresponding change in the character of 
the plays produced. Whatever may be true with regard to 
the drama there is but one conclusion with regard to the 
pageant. There is everything to gain and nothing to lose 
by having the audience familiar with the words of the 
pageant and the best way to accomplish this is through the 
pageant book. 






IV. THE MUSIC 

Pageant music is in a class by itself. The nearest 
approach to it, probably, is the music used in the picture 
houses. Even this is so different in character and treatment 
that it can hardly be said to resemble pageant music except 
that both aim to deepen the impression made upon the 
audience by what is seen on the stage and the screen. The 
great difference between the two is in the type of music used 
and in the way it is used. The appeal of the films is frankly 
made to the popular taste, hence the ordinary popular music 
finds a very prominent place in the programmes of music for 
picture theaters. This is entirely right and proper and the 
music used varies with the type of picture shown and with the 
character of the audience. Many of the better picture 
theaters use classical music to a large extent because their 
audiences are made up of people who understand and appre- 
ciate the best in music. In general, however, the music that 
is suited for a pageant is of a better type than that used for 
the pictures. 

The treatment is also different in that the pageant music 
is subordinated more completely to the action of the pageant 
than is the case with the music in the picture houses. The 
very rapid development of the story on the screen makes it 
difficult to follow every change of mood with an appropriate 
change of music. In a pageant the episodes are usually so 
arranged that there is no necessity for a change of theme 
in the music throughout the episode. Whenever many 
changes in the music are required in the course of an episode 
one is fairly safe in assuming that the author has not fol- 
lowed the pageant form very closely but has used a mixture 
of dramatic forms and has called the result a pageant. The 
music for a dramatic entertainment of this sort is very diffi- 

55 



56 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

cult to handle. As a matter of fact such a so-called pageant 
would better be discarded entirely or else largely rewritten. 
The alternative to this is to make the music the important 
feature and subordinate the action to it. The result may be 
pleasing but it is not pageantry in the proper sense of the 
term. 

Function of Pageant Music. — The music for a 
pageant should simply form a background for the action of 
the pageant. It should never become the prominent feature 
of the pageant but should be subordinated to the action and 
should be used only in such ways as will support and intensify 
the emotional appeal made by the action of the pageant and 
by the stage pictures. It should bear the same relation to the 
action of the pageant that an accompaniment bears to the 
solo. In many pageants the orchestra plays almost con- 
tinuously, especially during the entrances and exits of episode 
groups. While the characters are speaking the music should 
sink nearly to silence and then should swell out again as the 
action without speech is resumed. The music helps set the 
tempo for the whole performance, yet it is always secondary 
to the action of the pageant. The audience should not be 
acutely conscious of the music except at specified places. The 
emotional appeal of the music should, however, be depended 
upon to intensify the effect of the lines and of the action of 
the pageant throughout the performance. 

Standard and Original Compositions. — It is only 
occasionally, and for certain parts, that it is an advantage to 
use original music. Usually suitable music can be found in 
the works of standard composers and in collections of folk 
and national songs. The selection of the music to be used 
should be made carefully with the character and intended 
tempo of the different episodes kept clearly in mind. It 
would be as inappropriate to use a minuet for a Roman 
processional as it would be to use a dignified but rather 
noisy march for all the phases of a Joan of Arc episode. 
The music selected for the Roman episode in the Thanks- 



THE MUSIC 57 

giving pageant was ''Antony's Victory" (Gruenwald) from 
the Antony and Cleopatra suite. It has dignity, volume, and 
strongly marked rhythm and melody, just the characteristics 
best calculated to deepen the impression made by a Roman 
triumphal procession. A French folk-song would be the 
proper accompaniment for an episode dealing with the early 
life of Joan of Arc while a stately minuet would be better 
suited to an episode showing her at the court of the Dauphin. 
The music selected for the Joan of Arc episode in the 
Thanksgiving pageant was the first number of the Antony 
and Cleopatra suite (Gruenwald) entitled "In the Arbor." 
The introduction with the obligato omitted made an excellent 
processional hymn for the entrance of the Archbishop of 
Rheims and his clergy while the romantic main theme of the 
composition seemed Very fitting accompaniment for the 
movements of the court group. 

It is only for certain special features of a pageant that 
special music must be written. That composed for the 
Mountain, the Intervale, and the River spirits of the Thet- 
ford Pageant could not well have been dispensed with. 
Music written especially for the occasion by someone 
thoroughly in harmony with the mountains, valleys, and 
rivers of the region seemed essential. The composer caught 
the spirit of the mountains, the meadows, and the streams 
and expressed it subtly through his music. In a pageant 
given at the University of Missouri by the School of Educa- 
tion in 191 6 suitable music for the words of one of Froebel's 
action songs was not available so one of the students wrote 
a melody to accompany the words and orchestrated it. The 
next- year the same student set to music the song of Autoiycus 
from The Winter's Tale to use in a pageant dealing with the 
development of literary forms. Usually, however, music 
already orchestrated meets all the requirements of a pageant 
and saves an infinite amount of time, labor, and money. 

Arranging the Music. — When folk and national 
songs are used it is often necessary for the musical director to 



58 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

arrange them for the particular instruments that are avail- 
able. The air needs to be well marked while the harmony 
is of only secondary importance in music of this character. 
A strongly marked melody with enough harmony to avoid 
monotony is all that is required. What is desired is a suit- 
able accompaniment for certain pageant action. It is often 
well when arranging folk songs for pageant use to arrange 
them for only a few instruments, preferably the strings. 
National songs usually need greater volume and hence all 
sections of the orchestra need to be included. Under these 
circumstances it is well to give the melody to the violins and 
wood winds and perhaps part of the trumpets, while the other 
string and brass instruments fill in the harmony. No set 
plan can be followed, since the instruments available and the 
skill of the players must determine this detail of the work of 
the musical director. 

The Pageant Orchestra. — An important duty of the 
musical director is the selecting of the members of the 
orchestra. Since the musical director is often a member of 
the community a knowledge of the talent available is taken 
for granted. Were the pageant master to direct the orchestra 
he would be obliged to depend upon the knowledge of the 
pageant committee in selecting the orchestra members. Only 
general principles can be given for the selection. If the 
pageant is to be given indoors a small orchestra with the 
strings and wood winds predominating will be found the 
best. For an out-of-door pageant a large orchestra with a 
strong brass section is better. There are often local com- 
plications that practically force the musical director to use 
combinations of instruments that are not desirable from a 
musical standpoint, but since our premise is that a pageant is, 
or should be, a strictly community project the good of the 
community must be taken as the standard of judgment in 
settling this as well as all other questions of pageant man- 
agement. A pageant is not, primarily, a "show" or a con- 
cert. It is a community project expressing an ideal of the 



THE MUSIC 59 

community as a whole, and all questions affecting the pageant 
should be settled with this in mind. 

As has been stated before, fairly proficient amateurs 
make much better material for the pageant orchestra than 
do regular theater players. There are two principal reasons 
for this. First, the theater musicians are all members of the 
union and so have a rather high fixed price per hour. There 
is nothing to be said against this ordinarily, but for a pageant 
it is a different matter and is difficult to handle. Pageant 
funds are seldom extensive enough to allow so great an 
expense for a single item, no matter how important an item it 
may be. Then, as soon as the paid professional element 
enters into the pageant the spontaneous community aspect 
of it is lost and it takes on the character of the professional 
theater performance. Another union restriction that is 
entirely proper under ordinary circumstances but which is 
very troublesome in arranging for the pageant music is that 
union musicians cannot play under the direction of any but a 
union director and the musical director of a pageant is very 
seldom a professional musician. Neither may they play with 
non-union musicians. This professional, commercial, tend- 
ency in a pageant is to be avoided whenever possible for 
reasons that are developed from the nature of pageantry. 

The second important reason for preferring amateur 
musicians is that they have fewer conventional theater habits 
of playing to overcome and hence are more readily respon- 
sive to the directions of the leader. This would not be true, 
of course, of the large symphony orchestras nor of the 
orchestras of the large metropolitan theaters but these are so 
seldom available for pageant purposes that they need not be 
considered here. The orchestra leader often needs to take 
very great liberties with the score by varying the tempo and 
the volume in very different manner from that intended by 
the composer. This is justified because of the subordinate 
value of the music in the pageant performance. Its position 
is secondary to that of the action and hence it must be modi- 
fied to meet the requirements of the action. Professional 



6o THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

musicians often find it difficult to adjust themselves to these 
unusual variations. 

Another advantage that the amateur has over the pro- 
fessional musician is that he can usually afford to spend a 
much greater amount of time at rehearsals. Joint rehearsals 
of episode groups with the orchestra must be held if the 
performance is to go smoothly. The orchestra must have 
enough rehearsals, by itself, to ensure familiarity with the 
music before it is called to rehearse with episode groups. 
These rehearsals of the orchestra with the different episode 
groups must be held whenever the music forms an integral 
part of the episode as is the case when there is dancing, 
singing, or where fine co-ordination is desired between the 
climax of the action and the musical climax. These 
group rehearsals are almost indispensable if long delays at 
full rehearsals are to be avoided. There is no time at full 
rehearsals for the orchestra to stop and study out any detail 
of the music. Neither is there any good excuse for 
the rehearsal to be interrupted by the necessity for the 
orchestra and any small group of actors to co-ordinate their 
work. All this should have been done at preliminary 
rehearsals of the groups and the orchestra. The full re- 
hearsals are for the purpose of putting together the pageant 
and making such final changes as are demanded by the unity 
of the pageant as a whole. The orchestra should be ready 
to go through these full rehearsals with no hesitation. If 
the whole orchestra cannot attend all of the group rehearsals 
the pianist and such other members as can attend are very 
often able to carry the whole orchestra along at the full 
rehearsals. 

Placing of Orchestra. — The placing of the orchestra 
is an important matter. It should be so placed that it is 
not interposed between the audience and the stage. This 
is nearly impossible in an indoor performance because of the 
construction of the buildings. One of the most effective 
pageants the author has ever seen was given in a small 



THE MUSIC 61 

auditorium with a balcony. The orchestra was placed at the 
rear of the center of this balcony and was thus entirely out 
of the range of vision of the audience. The emotional effect 
was very marked. Other elements entered largely into this 
especially successful performance but the placing of the 
orchestra was an important factor. The pageant of Thet- 
ford, mentioned before, had the orchestra placed in a special 
booth at one side of the stage so that it was at the right of 
the audience instead of being between the audience and the 
stage. In an out-of-door pageant the orchestra could be 
hidden from the audience by a screen of greens that might 
form a part of the stage setting. 

Orchestral Difficulties. — Orchestras sometimes 
have considerable difficulty in changing from one piece of 
music to the next because of the putting away of the first 
piece and finding the second. Any delay here is fatal to the 
impression that is being made by the pageant because this 
change of music often comes at a crucial point in the action. 
About the only time that can safely be allowed for this 
change of music is when the spokesman for the central fig- 
ures is introducing a new episode. This is not usually a long 
time and yet the orchestra must be ready to resume playing 
as soon as these lines are spoken. The audience has been 
told what it is going to see and if it is kept waiting while the 
orchestra arranges music its attention wanders and the spell 
of the pageant is broken. 

Many devices have been resorted to in order that these 
delays might be reduced to a minimum. The members of 
the orchestra seldom have time to follow the action with the 
pageant book. The best substitute is a typed programme of 
the music, by episodes, which can be pinned to the music rack 
where it is always visible. With this in view and with the 
music arranged in the order in which it is to be played there 
should be very little trouble through delays. The pianist 
will need an assistant who will sit beside him and find the 
music as it is needed and put away that which has been used. 



62 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

It is often well to train boy or girl scouts to do this and 
assign one to each member of the orchestra. So many boys 
and girls of to-day, through their public school training, have 
at least a superficial knowledge of music that it is easy to 
find enough in any troop to serve in this capacity. 

A pageant given out of doors has special problems for 
the musicians. Some have been spoken of in connection 
with the work of the musical director. One that is of par- 
ticular importance so far as the individual orchestra mem- 
bers are concerned is the keeping of the music in place on 
the racks. The slightest puff of wind, no matter how gentle, 
will scatter the music. Clothespins of the spring variety are 
often used to hold the music in place. If the wind is at all 
strong and the music is clamped to the ordinary metal music 
racks there is danger of racks and music being upset 
together. In extremities of this sort boy scouts may again 
be called into service, one for each stand, to hold the music 
in place and the rack upright. Absurd as this may appear at 
first thought it has been resorted to in more than one case 
and has always been found a satisfactory method of over- 
coming the difficulty. It is a very serious matter for even 
half of the orchestra to be deprived of music in the midst of 
an episode. It is much better to arrange for service from 
the scouts than to have the music stopped by a sudden wind 
when no precautions have been taken. 

Pageant Songs. — The introduction of songs not intrin- 
sically related to the pageant is of doubtful dramatic value. 
They do lend variety but if at the same time they lessen 
rather than increase the unity of the theme of the pageant 
they are a liability instead of an asset. The one excuse of 
variety is not sufficient ground for their being included. In 
many cases songs do belong naturally in certain episodes. 
This was true of the song used in Episode VII of the 
Savannah Centennial Pageant. The song was originally 
composed in honor of Lafayette's visit to Savannah and was 
sung at a dinner given in his honor. The song, therefore, is 



THE MUSIC 63 

an essential part of an episode dealing with Lafayette's visit. 
The same thing is true of the hymn sung by the Bethesda 
boys in Episode I of the same pageant. This episode is not 
based upon fact but is none the less convincing, dramatically, 
and the hymn is felt to be an appropriate part of such an 
event. 

Another use of songs in a pageant is shown in the open- 
ing and closing choruses of the Thanksgiving pageant. The 
audience joined in the singing of these two songs and by that 
participation became to that extent identified with the 
pageant. The intention was to make every person in the 
audience feel a part of the pageant and become personally 
identified with the action. Such an opening chorus helps 
materially in establishing a sympathetic attitude on the part 
of the audience towards the pageant. The hymn of praise 
used as the opening chorus did more than this. It established 
the type of emotional response that was to be the key-note of 
the whole pageant, and thus not only helped to unify the 
audience but prepared directly for the proper response to 
the appeal of the pageant. 

A pageant dealing with the history of education intro- 
duced a violin solo into the episode showing the modern 
extension of higher education to include painting, philosophy, 
literature, and music. Philosophy argued the case for equal 
rights and responsibilities for men and women. Literature 
and painting expressed their spheres in pantomime. Music 
played a violin solo. As many as four different ideas will not 
often be compressed into the space of one episode but here 
the ideas were so closely related that no sense of inconsistency 
was felt. This same pageant contained the episode mentioned 
as making use of the Froebel motion song. The mother, 
in educating her very young children, made use of games and 
songs. It was fitting in an episode showing this type of 
education that the mother should sing the song and act it 
with the child. The fact that the song was very beautifully 
sung did not affect the integrity of the episode but it did 
increase the pleasure of the audience. When special music 



64 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

is an essential part of the episode action it may be used to 
advantage. Otherwise it would better be omitted. 

Entrance and Exit Music. — One very interesting 
part of pageants would be very flat and comparatively 
uninteresting were it not for the musical accompaniment. 
This part is the long entrances and exits of pageant groups. 
There seems neither rhyme nor reason to the entrance of a 
group of pageant figures down a long aisle of an auditorium 
on their way to the stage unless there is a background of 
music to give it effect. The persons in the groups feel 
exceedingly awkward when called upon to make such 
entrances at rehearsals without the orchestral accompani- 
ment but they feel entirely at their ease when the orchestra 
is playing. There seems to be something rather funda- 
mental about this feeling and it is shared to a great extent 
by those who witness the entrances. The same thing holds 
good with regard to pantomimic acting. Silent acting would 
be uninteresting by itself but it acquires new values through 
the music that accompanies it and thus becomes very much 
worth while. The music may not be noticed particularly for 
itself. It only contributes to the effect of the acting. 



V. THE CAST 

Selecting the Cast. — The aim, in selecting the cast 
of characters for a pageant, is to get persons who will look 
the parts and who have dramatic ability either already 
developed or latent. Only for the few parts that have lines 
is there need for good speaking voices as well. The selection 
of persons who look the parts implies a very complete 
acquaintance with photographs of historical personages, or 
if these are lacking with the conception of them as expressed 
by leading artists. Unfortunately the ideas of episode 
directors cannot be trusted on this point to any marked 
degree. There will be, of course, episode directors who are 
either already familiar with this historical material or who 
will inform themselves concerning it. Generally they do not 
know and seldom take the trouble to find out. The pageant 
master, then, is often the only person connected with a 
pageant who will know. He may not know what Lafayette 
or Julius Caesar looked like in the flesh but professional 
pride will in that case compel him to inform himself. 

The patriotic pageant given by the Woman's Committee, 
Missouri Division, Council of National Defense, 19 17- 
191 8, in seventeen different places called for a person to 
represent Lafayette. The pageant master was the same 
person in all the places but the episode directors were differ- 
ent for each place. The type of person presented for 
approval by the seventeen different episode directors as being 
their idea of what Lafayette looked like when he first came 
to offer his services to Washington ranged from a rather 
plump blond man of twenty-five to a very tall, thin, dark 
man of fifty years of age. In between there were fifteen 
different sizes, shapes, and ages. No one of these directors 

65 



66 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

knew, apparently, that Lafayette was a slender youth only 
nineteen years old when he made his first visit to this country 
and was given an honorary command. Sometimes the 
pageant master was able to persuade the episode director 
that a young man should be substituted but usually they were 
sincere in thinking that the person of their choice was a good 
likeness of the French nobleman. The desire to give impor- 
tant persons a prominent place in the pageant and thus 
secure their interest and support may have influenced the 
episode directors in some cases, and there are circumstances 
when it would be well to sacrifice historical accuracy to 
community interests. 

It may well be argued that in such cases, where there 
seems to be no definite popular conception of the personal 
appearance of an historical character, it makes little differ- 
ence what sort of a person is given the part. This is doubt- 
less true to a great extent. On the other hand, a pageant 
master who realizes the educational opportunities offered by 
a pageant is not quite content to be anything but as accurate, 
historically, as is possible with the resources at his command. 
In a community project such as a pageant it is often better to 
sacrifice dramatic and even historical verity than to insist on 
their preservation at the expense of community solidarity. 

This discussion brings out very clearly what has been 
spoken of in chapters dealing with other phases of the 
pageant; the difference between the commercial drama and 
the community pageant. The commercial drama exists for 
its own sake and in it dramatic unity and verity should be 
preserved at all costs. No other influence should interfere 
in any way. But the community pageant, and all real 
pageants should be community pageants, is a medium 
through which the community life may be expressed, built 
up, and co-ordinated. It exists for the sake of the com- 
munity first and is a dramatic expression as a secondary 
matter. The dramatic verity of a pageant can be sacrificed, 
then, when the interests of the community demand it. 

Appropriate Casting. — The difficulty in finding suit- 



THE CAST 67 

able persons to take the part of Lafayette, cited in a 
previous paragraph, indicates an important factor in the 
success of the pageant from an artistic point of view, namely, 
the age of the character represented and the age of the per- 
son taking the part. This is implied in the fact that a very 
young person would not ordinarily be selected as a suitable 
type to take the part of an old person. Yet theater traditions 
are so strong with us that many directors are inclined to 
select for dramatic ability alone and trust to makeup to 
supply the necessary physical characteristics. It may be 
necessary and desirable to do this in the theater, although it 
is to be seriously questioned even there, but in a pageant it 
is almost fatal to the impression of sincerity that should be 
the key-note of a pageant. It is just as absurd to have a 
very young person impersonating extreme age as it is for a 
person well along in years to take the part of a very young 
man or woman. Young persons can assume the physical 
infirmities of age with some degree of success, although they 
usually exaggerate them. It is almost impossible for any 
but the most highly trained and experienced actors to assume 
the mental aspects of age and this training and experience 
can only be acquired through years of effort which make the 
impersonation not so much of a character part, after all, for 
the one acting it. 

An important feature of selecting the cast for a pageant, 
then, is to find persons who are of the right type and also of 
approximately the same age as the characters they are to 
represent. There is never any serious difficulty in persuad- 
ing people past their first youth to take part in a pageant 
because of the nature and purpose of the pageant. People 
who never would consent to be in a play will very readily 
agree to take a part in a pageant because of the nature of 
the acting in a pageant. The fact that it is a community 
project appeals to them, the dignified treatment also appeals 
to them, the lack of dialogue is an incentive, and finally, the 
dramatic instinct never atrophies but functions through life 
whenever conventional inhibitions are removed through 
public sentiment. 



68 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

Character Parts. — Moving picture directors are com- 
ing to realize the limitations of makeup as a substitute for 
the right kind of actor more and more as their art develops. 
This does not necessarily mean that they are discarding the 
makeup box. It does mean that they are discarding the 
excessive use of makeup and are using it more intelligently. 
They are also selecting their actors with better discrimina- 
tion. It is within a comparatively short time that film actors 
have been chosen because of their age. That is to some 
extent an exaggeration, yet in recent films the characters that 
are old in the story are represented by persons of approx- 
imately the same age in the picture. Formerly the film 
mother was so unmistakably made up to look the correct 
age that the action was often made ludicrous. Advancing 
years bring such unvarying characteristics, physical and 
mental, to the majority of us that youth cannot hope to 
simulate them convincingly. 

Pageant treatment brings the characters under almost as 
close a scrutiny as the camera and character makeup and 
subterfuges of all sorts are fully as evident as in motion 
pictures. The use of the aisles for entrances and exits brings 
the actors into immediate proximity to the audience and any 
but appropriate casting of parts is evident and the desired 
illusion is destroyed. Where any really serious acting is 
required physical characteristics that are obviously assumed 
detract from the sincerity of the action to exactly the extent 
to which they distract the attention of the audience from the 
acting. 

Pageant Acting. — Dramatic ability was the second 
qualification mentioned as desirable in pageant actors. A 
pageant master soon learns to look for this ability in very 
unexpected quarters. The dramatic instinct may remain 
dormant for years and then suddenly stir to life when a suit- 
able medium is found. The one who has dramatic ability of 
the kind needed in pageantry may be entirely unconscious of 
it until an opportunity to demonstrate it arrives and then 
latent ability of a high order will show itself. 



THE CAST 69 

Pageant acting is more nearly allied to the pantomimic 
art than to any other branch of the drama. The technic of 
it seems to be quite different from that of the motion picture, 
although at first thought it might seem to be the same. It is 
more nearly like the acting in the modern drama of ideas 
than it is like the acting required by the earlier drama. Per- 
haps if Greek drama could be revived in its original form we 
would recognize many points of resemblance to pageant 
acting. There is little or no opportunity to portray the 
development of character, as the pageant seldom deals with 
that phase of life. The thing that pageant actors must 
possess is the ability to express, usually without the help of 
lines, character that is already developed. 

In the Thanksgiving pageant the only opportunity for 
acting, as such, is in the part of Augustus in Episode III and 
in Episode VI where the things Columbus has brought back 
from the New World are shown to the court of Ferdinand 
and Isabella. There is opportunity for considerable panto- 
mime in the latter episode. In the other episodes the duty 
of those taking the parts is to look like the persons they 
represent and see that the grouping on the stage is balanced 
and appropriate as seen from the audience. Some people 
have a natural feeling for stage grouping and they are the 
ones who should be selected to have prominent places in 
those episodes depending upon such groupings for their 
effects. They instinctively take the right places. 

An experienced director learns to pick out from a group 
of people those who will have ability of the sort necessary in 
a pageant. He acquires an almost intuitive knowledge of 
what can be expected from different people and is able to 
pick out, on the street or at social gatherings, those who will 
be valuable in different parts. Their physical characteristics 
have an important part in this but their mental processes as 
evidenced by their actions is the thing that appeals quite as 
strongly to the pageant master. 

Principal Parts. — Those parts with lines must be 
taken by persons with the necessary physical appearance and 



7 o THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

speaking voices that have carrying power. A loud voice 
often does not carry as well as one of different timbre but 
of less volume. Enunciation and articulation have very 
much to do with the carrying power of voices. The person 
with a good singing voice very often has a poor speaking 
voice. The only way to make sure of the speaking parts is 
to try all who are in any way eligible in the place where the 
pageant will be given. It is especially difficult to find people 
whose voices will carry out of doors. Conditions are so 
different from even the large auditoriums that only those 
who are especially gifted are able to make the lines heard 
any distance from the stage. An example of this difficulty 
even with trained actors was cited in Chapter III (page 46) . 
On the other hand persons with no training and very little 
experience often show great facility in so placing their voices 
that they carry great distances. In the Jefferson City 
pageant the group of central figures was stationed at least 
half way up the very long flight of steps leading to the main 
entrance to the capitol building while the audience stretched 
for many rods out in front towards the street. No exact 
figures are available but the street was probably thirty rods 
from the woman who had the principal part. She had had no 
special training and no great amount of experience, yet every 
word of her lines could be heard and understood, which is 
an entirely different matter, nearly to the street. This is 
an unusual case but it is cited to show that it is well for a 
pageant master to give every person interested an oppor- 
tunity to try for the speaking parts regardless of previous 
experience or the entire lack of it. 

Central Figures. — The cast of the central figures 
should, naturally, be selected by the pageant committee and 
the pageant master. The most satisfactory way is for the 
pageant committee to propose candidates for these parts and 
then for the pageant master to try the candidates on the 
stage and select the ones he deems best fitted for the parts. 
When there is time for open trials interest in the pageant 



THE CAST 71 

will be stimulated if the trials are opened to all who desire 
to try for the parts of the central figures. Very often unusual 
talent for pageant acting will be discovered in these open 
trials. Usually the pageant master will be able to place to 
advantage in the different episodes some of those who have 
tried for the parts in the central group and who have shown 
characteristics essential to the success of some particular 
episode. 

Episode Casts. — The casts of characters for the episodes 
will be selected by the episode directors in consultation with 
the pageant master. Here, again, interest is often stimulated 
if trials for important parts can be opened to all. Unre- 
stricted trials often result in a very great loss of time and 
energy. It is better for the episode director to ask a group 
of people to meet the pageant master and then when all are 
together the persons who are to take the particular parts 
can be selected. This is a very satisfactory way, as the group 
as a whole and the relation of individual figures to the 
remainder of the group may be fixed with much greater 
certainty than where the members of the group appear one 
by one. No person can carry in mind the relative heights 
and postures of many different people. 

A good plan in casting the episode groups is for the 
pageant master to meet the group and explain the episode to 
the group as a whole. Then a discussion will follow as to 
how the subject is to be presented in order that the audience 
may understand the idea embodied in the episode. During 
this discussion certain persons will appear to have a better 
conception of how to express the idea than others will have. 
These persons might be asked in turn to take certain leading 
parts as the group goes through the action. This will pro- 
vide a comparative basis for judgment and the cast can be 
made up very easily. 

Opinion is divided as to whether or not the episode 
director should take one of the parts in his episode. It is, 
of course, out of the question for him to take a part in an 



72 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

episode other than his own, as he must always be with his 
group. Many episode directors have thought that they had 
better control of their groups while on the stage if they were 
on the stage with them. The only way to arrange this is for 
the episode director to be costumed and become an integral 
part of the group. If the director takes an important part it 
should occupy his attention to the exclusion of everything 
else while the episode is being presented. No one can do this 
and at the same time take care of the group. If many 
rehearsals have been held it would be possible for the group 
to be left to manage itself, largely, but this is seldom the 
case. It is possible, though, for an episode director to take 
a minor part and so actually be on the stage with his group 
and direct the action. This is an advantage where the 
rehearsals have been slighted but it is an advantage that is 
secured at the price of lessened efficiency while the group is 
off the stage. Experience has shown that a director in cos- 
tume is not so well able to control a group of people while 
off the stage as one who is not distracted by the necessity of 
keeping his own costume in condition for a stage appearance. 
In an emergency the episode director must be ready to 
take a part and direct his episode from the stage as a director 
stationed in the wings is rather helpless in trying to have 
the group do the right thing when they have no idea of what 
they are to do. An extreme example of this is provided by 
the masque given as a laboratory exercise by the pageantry 
class in the Drama League Institute of 1920. The masque 
was given in the municipal pier auditorium of Chicago. The 
members of the class, who were acting as episode directors, 
had no acquaintance in Chicago, so had no way of getting 
people to take the parts in their episodes. They went out 
to the pier early on the afternoon of the day the masque was 
to be given and collected from among the children and young 
people who were visiting the pier for purposes of recreation 
enough to fill up the ranks of their episode groups. These 
young people had no idea of what the masque was about nor 
of what was expected of them. They were put into the 



THE CAST 73 

costumes, hurried through one brief rehearsal, and then were 
as prepared as was possible under the circumstances for the 
actual performance of the masque. Under these conditions 
the episode directors were obliged to go on as leaders of 
their groups. It was much to their credit that no serious 
error occurred in the action of any of the episodes. 

A great advantage in the selection of the group casts by 
the episode directors is that every director has a different 
circle of friends and acquaintances from that of every other 
director and by selecting from these different circles many 
different community groups are brought into the intimate 
relationship of the pageant. If the episode directors are 
selected in the first place with this as one of the qualifications 
a real community consciousness may be found to have 
replaced the former group consciousness that existed prior 
to the pageant. 

Professional Actors. — The same rule holds for the 
cast of characters as was suggested for the selection of the 
orchestra members. Professional actors and actresses are 
usually better left out of the cast. They put the same stamp 
of the professional theater on the action of the pageant as 
the theater orchestra does upon the music and this should be 
the last influence one would select. It helps break down the 
very spirit of community life that the pageant is expected to 
build up. 

There is a great contrast between the acting of profes- 
sional players and that of amateurs who must make up the 
greater part of a pageant cast and the contrast is not always 
in favor of the professional. Acting that seems sincere on 
the stage of a theater with all of its accessories in the way of 
lights and scenery seems theatrical and exaggerated on a 
pageant stage with little or nothing in the way of scenery 
and lighting. The studied art of the theater is out of keep- 
ing with the spontaneous character of pageantry at its best. 
A pageant given in New York soon after the United States 
entered the recent war was probably one of the most beau- 



74 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

tiful that has ever been presented in this country. Profes- 
sional actors and actresses took all of the prominent parts 
and possibly all of the minor parts as well. This fact does 
not, however, contradict the previous statements for this 
very beautiful pageant was given in a theater equipped with 
everything art can devise in the way of scenery and lighting 
and so the illusion of the theater was maintained and was 
not brought into contrast with a simpler less sophisticated 
type of acting and setting such as is expected in a community 
pageant. In reality it was epic drama rather than real 
pageantry. 

Several of the large pageants of the country have availed 
themselves of the services of actors and actresses. Nothing 
could be said of the way they carried their parts except that 
it is very difficult to carry over to and make effective in the 
field of pageantry the more detailed art of the theater where 
the action is reinforced by the lines. If the pageant could 
be given in the theater building, as was the one cited above, 
and professional actors and actresses engaged for all of the 
parts, there is no doubt that a more finished artistic produc- 
tion would result than is possible with amateurs; and the 
pageant would have been transformed into a drama. The 
dramatic perfection of the pageant is not its main purpose 
or even one of its principal aims. It is a desirable detail if 
it can be secured without sacrificing the main purpose of the 
pageant. 

The business manager, who must make both pageant 
ends meet, would never recommend the engagement of 
actors whose services are secured at a price. Some extra 
admissions would be sold because of the fame of the actors 
but generally these would not be proportionate to the added 
expense of salaries and incidentals such as special dressing 
rooms and attendants. Anything that adds in a marked 
degree to the expense of production is scrutinized closely by 
a good business manager. He is in a position to know just 
how near the amount of the income is to the amount of the 
expenditures. Even if the business manager did think the 



THE CAST 75 

salaries of the actors were warranted because of increased 
income from admissions the pageant committee would still 
have to decide whether, from a community point of view, it 
would be wise to engage them. 

An honest and clear thinking committee would be obliged 
to decide in the negative however great an advantage it 
would be for the people of the community to see these 
famous actors. The consistent thing for the committee to 
do would be to use local talent in the pageant and then at 
some other time arrange for the appearance of the actors 
under conditions favorable to their form of dramatic expres- 
sion. 



VI. THE REHEARSALS 

Orchestra Rehearsals. — The orchestra rehearsals 
have already been discussed. Briefly the plan is this. The 
orchestra will have enough rehearsals to familiarize them- 
selves with the pageant music which, by the way, is not 
difficult music as a rule. The great difficulty of the orchestra 
will come in getting used to being stopped at any place in the 
music that is required by the action of the episodes and in 
finding the music for the next episode in the short time 
allowed. The first difficulty cannot be overcome by separate 
orchestra rehearsals. Only an approximate understanding 
between the orchestra leader and the episode directors can 
be reached at the group rehearsals, either. Facility in this 
will be gained by actually having to find the music under 
pageant conditions and this is possible only at full 
rehearsals. As there are seldom more than two full 
rehearsals and often only one, the latter difficulty would 
better be taken care of as was suggested in Chapter IV 
(page 61). 

The orchestra, after becoming familiar with the music, 
must meet with the different episodes for group rehearsals 
at which the action of the episodes will be planned and the 
music fitted to the action as well as possible. If the full 
orchestra cannot attend these group rehearsals, and it very 
seldom can, at least the pianist and as many of the others 
as possible should be present. Misfortune always descends 
upon the orchestra that neglects these precautions. Unfor- 
tunately the misfortune swamps not only the orchestra but 
the episode as well. 

At the full rehearsals the orchestra that has followed 
these suggestions will not cause any delay to the progress of 

76 



THE REHEARSALS 77 

the rehearsal. The members will be ready with the music 
when it is required, will know how the episode action 
requires that it be modified and modulated, and will help 
materially in getting the different parts put together by 
causing no vexatious delays while the pageant master strives 
to explain to them something they should have learned at 
group rehearsals. Every interruption of a full rehearsal is 
a serious matter because of the large number of people who 
are left standing about waiting for the rehearsal to be 
resumed. It is a difficult matter to regain their attention and 
start the rehearsal again. 

Forms of Rehearsals. — Two forms of rehearsals for 

the pageant have already been mentioned, the group 

rehearsals and the full rehearsals. Each episode group will 

-work out and perfect the action of its episode and then at 

the full rehearsals the episodes will be put together and 

unified. 

! f 

Group Rehearsals. — At the group rehearsals the 
pageant master should designate the position of each group 
when not on the stage, fix definitely the entrances and exits, 
and drill the group in its action. If the action is not more 
complicated than usual and if there is no dance that is a part 
of the episode, one group rehearsal lasting an hour is all that 
will be needed. When there is a dance in an episode some 
part of the orchestra must attend the rehearsals for it. 
These rehearsals should be held before the group rehearsal 
is called. The musical director will find his task much 
simpler when it comes to directing the actual performance of 
the pageant if he and the pianist, at least, attend all such 
rehearsals. This is not so formidable a matter as one might 
think, as there are seldom more than two or three such 
episodes in any one pageant. 

The position of the pageant groups when not on the 
stage is difficult to arrange. Out of doors there is very little 
difficulty but inside all sorts of elements enter in and com- 
plicate the work of the pageant master and the episode 



78 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

directors. There is no good reason why pageant groups 
should be kept out of sight of the audience either before or 
after the episodes in which they appear. There is a dramatic 
tradition that actors must never be seen by the audience 
except when they are on the stage. This may be supported 
by good reasons in the theater but in pageantry the presence 
of costumed figures among the audience helps to break down 
purely artificial lines of demarcation and encourages a feel- 
ing of being a part of the pageant in the audience. In an 
out-of-door pageant the simplest way is to have the episode 
groups seated by episodes in such a manner that it will make 
a minimum of disturbance when they leave to prepare for 
their entrances. They may be seated at the rear of the 
audience, on the side, or sit on the ground as they please, 
so long as each group stays together. It is not well to have 
them stay apart from the audience unless they can be kept at 
a distance sufficient to prevent the noise of talking from 
being heard. However they are seated the sections reserved 
for the different episode groups must be plainly marked so 
that there will be no misunderstanding, and all of the mem- 
bers of each group should be required to remain in the sec- 
tion reserved for the group except when they are on the stage 
or are making entrances or exits. No one should leave a 
group except with the knowledge and permission of the 
director of that episode. 

The same precautions hold in an indoor performance 
except that still greater precautions are necessary in order 
that the talking of the actors may not disturb the audience 
and that the noise of moving out of the seats to prepare for 
entrances and upon returning after the episodes be reduced 
to a minimum. Those taking part in a pageant often wish to 
buy seats so that they may see as much of the pageant as 
possible to good advantage but this should be discouraged 
unless the whole group will buy them in a block. Even then 
they should get seats at the rear or in a balcony because of 
the disturbance made in leaving for their episodes. If the 
actors can be kept in a different building altogether and only 
brought in for their particular parts the comfort of the 



THE REHEARSALS 79 

audience would be greater but this is almost never possible 
both because of lack of facilities and because the actors wish 
to see the pageant. The practical solution is to reserve 
seats at the rear and in the balconies and assign episode 
groups to seats nearest the place where they will make their 
entrances. This reduces the number of seats that can be sold 
but the business manager must make allowance for it in his 
original estimates. 

The next matter that will claim the attention of the 
pageant master at the group rehearsals is instructing the 
groups as to the way in which they will make their entrances 
and exits, and their position while waiting for their en- 
trances. If seats have been reserved for the pageant actors 
they should leave these seats at the beginning of the episode 
preceding theirs, and go at once to the place from which 
their entrance is to be made. Allowance must be made here 
for narrow corridors and for the group already on the 
stage whose exit will occur before the entrance of the waiting 
group. Where groups are large and many of them must be 
waiting for entrances at the same time, as in Episode VIII of 
the Thanksgiving pageant, extreme care must be exercised to 
have them arranged in the order of their entrances or con- 
fusion will reign. This last is a matter that must be arranged 
at the full rehearsal. The approximate place for each group 
can, however, be pointed out at the group rehearsals. 

After the group has been instructed as to the seats to be 
occupied and the way in which the entrances and exits are to 
be made, the group should be called to the stage, the sig- 
nificance of the episode explained, and then a discussion held 
as to the best way in which to portray the thing which the 
episode is to present. During this rather free discussion of 
the action of the episode some of the individual members of 
the group will show more than average intelligence in under- 
standing the meaning of the episode or catch the spirit in 
which it may be worked out more clearly than others. These 
should be selected for the important parts in the episode 
and then tried in turn in these parts as the group as a whole 
goes through the action. With this comparison as a basis 



80 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

the parts should be assigned permanently, the episode 
rehearsed again, and then the whole group sent to the seats 
they will occupy during the pageant to rehearse the episode 
again from the time they will leave their seats until they are 
back in them again at the end of the episode. It may be 
necessary to do this several times but it should be rehearsed 
until the group can leave the seats without undue noise, make 
the entrance as instructed, carry the action of the episode 
through convincingly, make their exit, and return to their 
seats again in an orderly and quiet manner. 

The third matter spoken of as important at the group 
rehearsals, the drilling in the action by the pageant master 
and episode director, has been discussed in the preceding 
paragraph. The thing that has not been considered is the 
part the episode director will take in the group rehearsals. 
He is the one to set the time for the rehearsal so that it will 
meet the convenience of the pageant master. He must then 
notify the members of the group. The pageant master will 
hold the episode director responsible for the attendance of 
the group members. Since the pageant master will not know 
the individuals in the group by name the episode director will 
act as agent for him in arranging the details of the episode 
and will be able to give valuable advice as to the abilities of 
different persons. 

As has been stated earlier in the chapter, the episode 
directors would better not attempt to take a part in the epi- 
sodes because of their other duties. Their relation to their 
groups is much like that of an officer to his regiment. Even 
at rehearsals this attitude must be maintained to a certain 
extent. He must see that they are ready and in their places. 
He is responsible for each member of the group having the 
properties that are demanded by the episode, and it is not 
safe to omit the use of the properties from any of the 
rehearsals. He must see to it that everything about the 
action of the episode is understood and can be carried out 
without serious deviation from the plan as worked out in 
consultation with the pageant master. 



THE REHEARSALS 81 

Special features of episodes, like dances, should be 
rehearsed separately and before group rehearsals by epi- 
sodes are called. In the end this saves time for everybody, 
as the whole episode group is not kept waiting while a small 
number are rehearsing their special feature. 

Full Rehearsals. — The first full rehearsal is the time 
that tries the souls of all pageant officers. There is always, 
even under the most favorable circumstances, a considerable 
amount of confusion. Episode directors who are efficient 
will reduce the confusion to a minimum but they cannot be 
expected to prevent it altogether. It is next to impossible 
to bring hundreds of people together and restrain their 
movements and conversation so that the directions of the 
pageant master may be heard. It is especially difficult to 
keep some members of the groups from wandering off on 
one pretext or another and not returning in time for their 
parts. By speaking at all of the group rehearsals about the 
necessity for quiet at the full rehearsals and during the per- 
formances a predisposition to listen to reason on this subject 
may be developed in the members of the cast. A pageant 
master may sometimes be compelled to dismiss a rehearsal 
because of unintentional disorder. The word unintentional 
is used here in a relative sense. No individual in the group 
really intends to make so much noise that it will be impos- 
sible to continue the rehearsal. Very few people, however, 
seem to realize that a great noise is often a composite of 
many small noises that in the aggregate make a degree of 
confusion that is deafening and which makes rehearsing an 
impossibility. 

Promptness is another virtue that should be preached 
and practiced from the very first group rehearsal that is 
called. At the time set for the first full rehearsal all the 
episode groups should be in the places assigned to them at 
their episode rehearsals and the orchestra should be in its 
place with instruments tuned ready to begin. The group of 
central figures will have been trained in special rehearsals 
with the pageant master so that they will be in their places 



82 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

ready to carry through their part of the pageant with no 
interruptions. It is well for the first two episode groups to 
be stationed ready for their entrances instead of in the seats 
assigned to them, as this is the way they must be arranged 
for the actual performance. 

With the preliminary work carefully done and instruc- 
tions for the conduct of the full rehearsal definitely under- 
stood by the episode directors there should be little difficulty 
in getting through the full rehearsal without any marked 
interruptions. Episode groups may have to be sent back to 
make entrances over because of some error on their part, 
because the orchestra needs to know more definitely how 
much time is going to be needed for specific entrances, or 
because some change is demanded that the unity of the 
pageant as a whole may be promoted. The action of certain 
episodes may need to be repeated that groupings may be 
corrected, that the orchestra may learn the exact moment 
when a dance is to begin, or that especially dramatic action 
may be intensified. If the episode groups are attentive they 
soon learn how their parts are to be related to the whole and 
how their episode is to be managed so as to avoid conflict 
with the exit and entrance of other episode groups, and the 
rehearsal will move smoothly after it gets well started. 

A very great help to the pageant master and to the epi- 
sode directors may be secured through the services of boy 
or girl scouts, in uniform, who are detailed to act as personal 
attendants. These boys or girls should know all of the 
pageant officers by name and should be able to deliver a 
message as it was given. These personal attendants should 
stay with the person to whom they are assigned ready to 
carry messages or execute orders of any sort. When the 
person moves the attendants should follow so that no time 
will be lost in hunting for them when they are needed. Four 
attendants for the pageant master and two for each of the 
episode directors will usually be sufficient. The success of 
more than one pageant has been secured through the quick- 
ness and reliability of just such attendants. 



THE REHEARSALS 83 

Another device that will save much time at the rehearsals 
and will give considerable assurance of a successful per- 
formance is a telephone system installed to connect the 
pageant master with the orchestra and with the episode 
directors. Boy scout messengers, as suggested, serve as a 
substitute but the telephone is so much quicker and surer 
that it is a very great aid. It is almost a necessity for a large 
out-of-door pageant. The director should be out in front 
where he can see exactly how the pageant is going while the 
episode directors are with their respective groups taking care 
of the details of the action. Instantaneous communication 
with them and with the orchestra will often prevent an awk- 
ward wait and will provide a method of taking care of the 
unexpected accidents that will occur when so many people are 
involved. In one pageant two members of an episode group 
were to enter from the wings while the remainder of the 
group were to enter from the rear of the auditorium up the 
main aisle. The pageant master was with the orchestra, the 
episode director was with the main group, and these two 
characters were left to look out for themselves as they had 
done at rehearsals. Something delayed them, and as the 
pageant master had no means of communication with the 
dressing rooms he was helpless and they never did appear in 
the episode. A telephone would have enabled the pageant 
master to get them in time. Messengers would have been 
too slow. 

It is possible to save time for many people and at the 
same time lessen the possibility for confusion at the full 
rehearsals by having the episode groups report at the time 
their episodes may be expected to be called instead of having 
them all report at the time the rehearsal begins. If there is 
no finale that requires the presence of all the groups on the 
stage each episode group may be excused as soon as that 
episode is finished. But since there will be only one or two 
full rehearsals it seems better as a general rule for all to 
report for the beginning of the rehearsal and stay through 
to the end. If the group rehearsals have been conducted 



84 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

properly these full rehearsals should not last more than a 
third longer than the actual performance. 

Dress Rehearsals. — Opinion is divided as to whether 
or not the last full rehearsal should be a dress rehearsal. 
It takes a long time for several hundred people to get 
dressed for such a rehearsal and the time is always badly 
needed for actual rehearsing. Pageant costumes are often 
rather hastily constructed and the wear and tear of a full 
dress rehearsal either necessitates the remaking of the 
costumes or at least robs them of their freshness. On the 
other hand it is an advantage to have the costumes reviewed 
by the pageant master, the pageant artist, the costumer, and 
the episode directors. There are really only two good 
reasons for having a dress rehearsal for a pageant; the 
reviewing of the costumes and the need for individual actors 
to get accustomed to wearing a different type of garb from 
the one they usually wear. 

The solution of this problem of the dress rehearsal 
seems to be to have it in sections, that is, for each episode 
group to have a dress rehearsal by itself. The last group 
rehearsal for each episode might well be a dress rehearsal 
where all matters relating to costumes, properties, and 
makeup can be decided. 

When the whole pageant cast has a dress rehearsal there 
will not be time for so large a number of persons to get 
dressed, made up, and then do any rehearsing. No pageant 
master would hesitate in selecting which of these three things 
should be done at the full rehearsal. The costuming could 
just as well be done by episode groups. The makeup can be 
taken care of to better advantage in small groups. The 
rehearsing is the one thing that is essential when all of the 
pageant cast is together. Two hours can easily pass while the 
members of a whole pageant cast are putting on costumes 
and are being made up. This leaves very little time for 
rehearsing or for the necessary reviewing of costumes ?nd 
makeup. If all the time available for a full rehearsal is 



THE REHEARSALS 85 

devoted strictly to rehearsing there are two things, only, that 
one can hope to secure; first, the familiarity of the groups 
with their positions when off the stage and their entrances 
and exits in relation to the positions and movements of other 
groups; and second, the fixing, with the orchestra, of the 
tempo of each episode and of the pageant as a whole. Very 
little time can be devoted even to the action of the different 
episodes, or to the movements of the central figures except 
as they are involved in the action of the episodes. How 
much less, then, can time be spared at such a rehearsal for 
costuming and makeup ! 

Whether the rehearsal be held in an auditorium or out 
of doors there is always considerable wear and tear on the 
costumes. Many pageant costumes are made of light 
material, delicately colored, which soils easily. If the 
rehearsal is held as near the time of the performance as is 
possible, which is frequently the case, there will be no time 
in which to launder the soiled costumes and freshen up those 
that are wrinkled. This is a very serious drawback to the 
full dress rehearsal held near the time for the first per- 
formance. If several performances are given preceded by 
the dress rehearsal the costumes will be in a sad state before 
the final performance. 

Inspections. — It is very necessary that all costumes be 
reviewed by the pageant master, the pageant artist, the cos- 
turner, and the episode directors. Inspecting from two to 
four hundred costumes in the time left after that number of 
people have put on their costumes is an almost impossible 
task for one evening. Of course all of the costumes do not 
have to be absolutely accurate but all of the costumes of the 
principal characters do have to be accurate and the others 
should be approximately so. Artistically conscientious 
officials will not be satisfied with costumes very far from 
correct, historically. Even if there were time to inspect all 
costumes carefully at a full dress rehearsal there would 
hardly be time for the required changes to be made before 



86 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

the first performance because the full rehearsal is usually 
called as near the performance as possible. The directions 
given at the dress rehearsal as to corrections to be made in 
costumes should be explicit and should be carried out exactly. 
If this work has been done carefully a very brief inspection 
of the groups before each performance will be all that is 
needed. 

Correctness in costume accessories like shoes, hats, and 
wigs or beards is difficult to secure. The correct form of 
footgear is the most difficult of all to secure. The principal 
offenders in this detail are the women who insist on wearing 
high heels with Greek robes. No amount of persuasion will 
convince some of them that they look exceedingly awkward 
and ungainly dressed in this way. They are used to the high 
heels and insist that they cannot walk without them. These 
women are not in the majority but they will be found in every 
pageant group and will not get sandals unless considerable 
pressure is brought to bear. It is much better to transfer 
such persons to an episode where their high heels will not 
be grotesque. Otherwise the inspecting officer may be 
obliged to force them to leave their heels and go in stockings 
without shoes of any kind. Among the men the most glaring 
inconsistency in footwear is the wearing of ordinary high 
black walking shoes with the court costumes of feudal times. 
This happened in one of the largest pageants ever given in 
the United States. Even in the professional field such things 
do occur. An instance was quoted in connection with an 
opera company recently touring the states. Report has it 
that a member of the chorus of this company appeared in 
Ai'da in the regulation Egyptian costume but wearing with it 
ordinary walking shoes and gray spats! Whether or not 
the report be true it serves to illustrate the problem of cor- 
rectness in costume accessories. Constant vigilance alone 
can keep these accessories even approximately correct. The 
only way to avoid glaring inconsistencies is for the costumer 
to have the footwear made where it varies from the modern 
style to any extent. 



THE REHEARSALS 87 

With the question of suitable hats comes also the style 
of hairdressing. Hats may be omitted to a great extent and 
no one will notice the omission except in rare cases. When 
hats are not worn the style of hairdressing, especially for 
the women, is important. In this respect, however, there is 
usually very little trouble. Much more difficult than the 
question of hats is the one of crowns for pageant royalty and 
for Liberty or America, or whatever name is given to the 
personification of the country. The tendency here is to 
appear with so extensive an expanse of gold covered card- 
board that it is very unbecoming and attracts attention to 
itself to the exclusion of the remainder of the costume and 
of the action and lines of the character. It is a false note 
that cannot be overcome in any way. The alternative would 
seem to be the renting of crowns from costumers but this is 
almost as unsatisfactory. Stage jewelry that can be rented 
is of the type that was used in the last century with elaborate 
court costumes and is not appropriate for use with modern 
simple pageant costumes. Crowns of this sort seem out of 
character except in an Elizabethan or feudal episode and 
even here they are a little incongruous unless the costumes 
have been rented to match them. The gold covered card- 
board crown is to be preferred for figures like America or 
Liberty but it must be kept to modest enough proportions so 
that it is becoming and inconspicuous. Gold lace and colored 
beads may be combined into very convincing crowns for 
kings and queens of the middle ages. A foundation of hat 
wire is all that is needed and they can be kept to suitable 
proportions and harmonious colors. The thing to be kept in 
mind is that shoes, hats, and crowns are costume accessories 
and should never be the dominating feature of the costume 
unless the action of the episode demands. They should con- 
tribute to the effect of the costume as any detail contributes 
to the whole effect. 

Wigs and beards are a source of great vexation to 
pageant officers. Those that can be rented from costumers 
are seldom satisfactory as they almost never fit well and 



88 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

often are enough "off color" so that they are obviously wigs 
and as such distract the attention of the audience when it 
should be concentrated upon what is happening on the stage. 
The expense of having special wigs made for a pageant is 
practically prohibitive except for the very few characters 
where wigs are essential. The wigs for colonial characters 
are easily procured. It is not essential that they resemble 
the natural hair so closely. Powdered hair appears to the 
present generation as artificial anyway and so we accept the 
white wig as an essential part of the colonial costume with- 
out feeling that it is a false note. A character part like a 
seer or a prophet must usually have both wig and beard. 
It would be worth while in this case to allow enough money 
so that suitable ones could be made or else very good ones 
bought ready made. Small, close-cropped beards and mus- 
taches can be made from crepe hair if care and skill are 
exercised. The hair should be combed out from the braid, 
stuck on with spirit gum, and then trimmed carefully.. Other 
than for the sort of character indicated wigs and beards 
would better be omitted. Their omission attracts less atten- 
tion than the use of poorly fitting ones does and the comfort 
of the actors is greatly increased by the omission. 

Full Dress Rehearsals. — When a full dress re- 
hearsal cannot be avoided it is an advantage to have it held 
at such a time that school children can attend and to charge 
a small admission fee. It may appear that an audience com- 
posed almost entirely of school children would be very dis- 
orderly and would interfere with the progress of the 
rehearsal. Of course such a rehearsal would not be allowed 
unless the preliminary group rehearsals had been very satis- 
factory. An audience, even of children, does serve as a 
check on the tendency of the cast to talk and to wander away 
from their groups and fully as much time and annoyance are 
saved in these respects as is lost through having an audience. 
The amount taken in at such a rehearsal is a welcome addi- 
tion to the pageant fund. The rehearsal also makes it 



THE REHEARSALS 89 

possible for many children to attend the pageant who could 
not attend a regular performance because of the price of 
admission. The full dress rehearsal is not recommended but 
if it cannot be avoided this plan for an audience is considered 
worth while. 

The two reasons for having a full dress rehearsal, as 
before suggested, are the inspection of the costumes and the 
necessity for the actors to get accustomed to wearing a type 
of clothing entirely different from what they are used to 
wearing. Essentially these two reasons for a full dress 
rehearsal are reasons for not having a full dress rehearsal at 
all but for having group dress rehearsals instead. If each 
group has a dress rehearsal in addition to enough other 
group rehearsals to bring the action up to the desired degree 
of accuracy, one full rehearsal will be all that will be neces- 
sary, if the orchestra has followed the plan outlined in 
previous chapters. If this plan does not save time for all 
concerned it will take no more time than the full dress 
rehearsal and will save much irritation to the pageant 
officers. 

Group Dress Rehearsals. — The group dress rehearsal 
will allow time for careful inspection of all costumes and 
also for the giving of detailed instructions as to what changes 
are to be made and how they are to be made. As a matter 
of fact the only way to secure proper inspection of costumes 
and accessories is to have time enough to do it carefully and 
time enough to explain just why certain changes are 
demanded. This cannot be done at a full dress rehearsal 
because of lack of time. Another advantage of the dress 
rehearsal by episodes is that they must be held earlier than 
the full rehearsal and that means adequate time to modify 
and complete costumes. There are always people who leave 
everything, the making of costumes included, until the last 
minute and if the costumes are required for a dress rehearsal 
of the episode several days before the date of the pageant 
there is more likelihood of the costumes being ready and 



90 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

approved than if the dress rehearsal is a full rehearsal very 
near to the time of the performance. 

It is important that the cast be used enough to the 
pageant costumes to wear them with an air of custom. Put 
a business man in tights and a plumed hat and it takes him 
some time to become reconciled to himself. Put the same 
business man in a Roman toga and it will take him much 
longer to feel, and hence look, at ease. Young athletes feel 
entirely at home in Greek chitons which leave arms and legs 
bare but they find some difficulty in adjusting themselves to 
the vestments of the church. A group dress rehearsal, 
because the number of people involved is comparatively 
small, allows much greater freedom of action than is pos- 
sible at a full dress rehearsal and hence the process of 
adjustment to a new style of clothing is hastened. When one 
can walk about and look at himself and exchange person- 
alities with others garbed in an equally strange way the new- 
ness wears off much more quickly than when all are obliged, 
for the sake of the rehearsing, to remain seated in one place 
except when on the stage. 

General Considerations. — When all of the pageant 
cast are together at the final full rehearsal the pageant 
master should give such instructions as are necessary with 
regard to the performances. The exact time of beginning 
should be stated, the time when the cast is expected to report 
to dress and be made up announced, directions given for the 
benefit of those who will make up at home, the caution with 
regard to talking and moving about after the pageant begins 
repeated, and specific instructions given as to where each 
episode group is to report for the final inspection before 
going to the places assigned to them for the performance. 
The greater part of these instructions will be a repetition of 
what has been said before but the repetition is a necessary 
precaution, nevertheless. 

It is well to leave one whole day free from rehearsals 
before the pageant is to be given. There will always be 



THE REHEARSALS 91 

groups asking for extra rehearsals on this last day but they 
should be refused unless there is a very great need for the 
extra rehearsal. The actual performance will go much 
better if this interval has been left between it and the re- 
hearsals. There are many details- that will occupy the 
pageant officers during this day of rest for the cast. Prop- 
erties should be checked over, final touches given to the stage 
settings, conferences held with episode directors, and such 
other things attended to as always come up at the last minute 
and which must be neglected if rehearsals are being held. 

Too many rehearsals will destroy the very spontaneity 
that is the essence of pageantry. There must be enough 
rehearsals held so that each group as a whole will know what 
to do and when to do it but the details of the acting should 
not be so definitely arranged that no one of the cast will 
r move except in the ordered way. Many of the most effective 
I bits of pageant acting are those that come at the time of 
the performance without having been previously learned. 
The important thing is to have the episode groups so filled 
with the spirit of the pageant that the details will almost 
automatically adjust themselves, and the acting follow as a 
matter of course. 



VII. THE PERFORMANCE 

Makeup. — As a preliminary to the pageant perform- 
ance the matter of makeup should be given careful attention. 
At the last rehearsal members of the cast were instructed as 
to the time they should report for dressing and makeup. It 
saves confusion to have them come by episode groups. The 
first group should appear at least an hour and a half before 
the time set for the performance to begin. Those groups 
that will have to be helped with their costumes should be 
called first. The men, particularly those taking the parts of 
Greeks and Romans, will need considerable help. Primitive 
peoples will need more time than others because of the 
extensive makeup required for them. Aside from this the 
groups might well draw for the time to report. Time should 
be allowed between the time appointed for the arrival of the 
different groups so that the first group may be nearly ready 
for final inspection before the members of the next group 
begin to report. This saves congestion in the dressing rooms 
and allows the final inspection to be made more leisurely 
than if all reported at once. 

Practically all of the men in the cast will have to be made 
up in the dressing rooms. Many of the women will be made 
up when they report. It is well to have some woman in the 
women's dressing room who will make up those who need 
it and who will see that those who made up at home have 
done it in the approved way. Several young men should be 
given instructions as to how the men should be made up and 
they should be in the dressing rooms to take care of that 
matter. It saves time if one of them is trained to use the 
rouge, another the pencil, another the powder, and so on. 
The pageant master or his representative should be present 

92 



THE PERFORMANCE 93 

to inspect the makeup after it is finished and before the 
individuals join their groups for the final inspection just 
before taking their places. 

What little makeup is used should be only enough to 
accent the natural features. If enough i v s used to attract the 
attention of the audience the force of the action is weakened 
to that extent. Under artificial light some makeup is almost 
necessary but the smallest possible amount should be used. 
Even in a daytime performance out of doors enough must 
be used to make the characters look natural. It must be 
used with skill and discretion, however, if it is to serve its 
purpose instead of defeating it. In a large pageant given by 
the students of a state university two young men failed to 
report at the time appointed for their episode. They came 
to the dressing room just as the makeup man was putting 
away his materials in order to report for duty elsewhere at 
the beginning of the pageant. The young men evidently 
helped themselves generously to the makeup, for when they 
appeared on the stage they presented a marked contrast to 
those who had been made up by the regular man. A casual 
observer would have thought they were having scarlet fever 
or else were red Indians in disguise. The remainder of the 
cast looked like normal human beings except possibly a little 
more attractive than usual, but these two were like nothing 
human and normal. 

Semi-moist rouge, eyebrow pencils in two colors, and 
flesh-colored powder are all that is needed for the makeup 
of the men. The women will need the same except that 
white powder is usually preferred to the flesh-colored. They 
often want cold cream and generally prefer a lip stick instead 
of the rouge for the mouth. Character parts will require 
additional materials such as cold^cream, blue and black 
grease paint and crepe hair. Grease paint is to be avoided 
as much as possible in pageantry. The characters are sub- 
jected to such close scrutiny that it is not possible to prevent 
a greasy appearance if the grease paint, or even the cold 
cream in any quantity, is used. It shows plainly and is 



94 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

objectionable, since it, rather than the acting of the char- 
acter, holds the attention of the audience. 

Character Makeup. — Character parts must be made 
up when it isn't possible to get a person with approximately 
the right physical appearance to take the part. It is much 
better, though, to search until the right person is found than 
to make up a different sort of person and have the audience 
think of the makeup all the time he is on the stage. The 
tendency is to use too much makeup rather than too little. 
A person trained to make up for the stage invariably makes 
the eyes up to look too theatrical. The one thing to avoid 
on the pageant stage is the appearance that we have in mind 
when we say "theatrical." The characters should look 
natural and normal and give the audience the feeling that 
they are seeing real people carrying on the real life of the 
world. If the actors look as though they were made up for 
the stage an element of make-believe and insincerity creeps 
in and spoils the atmosphere of the pageant. This is in no 
way intended as a reproach to the stage and its practices. 
Its very life depends upon creating and maintaining illusions. 
The point here is that pageantry has no part in such illusions 
and should avoid anything that looks like an attempt to 
create a theatrical atmosphere. Wigs, except for character 
parts such as colonial characters, and excessive makeup are 
to be avoided, even for the technically called character parts. 
A type of person should be selected for the part that will 
suggest the character and then the imagination of the audi- 
ence can be trusted to supply any lack. 

Final Inspection. — Episode directors should call the 
roll of their respective groups, inspect the members indi- 
vidually, and then report them ready for the final inspection 
of the pageant artist, the costumer, and the pageant master. 
The final inspection by these three officers should begin at 
least fifteen minutes before the pageant is to begin. If a 
dress rehearsal has been held for each group the labor of 



THE PERFORMANCE 95 

inspecting before the performance will be greatly minimized. 
It can not wisely be omitted, however, as there are always a 
few people who have neglected to make the corrections as 
instructed. 

Those persons who appear in the later episodes will 
often demur at being asked to report for final inspection at 
the beginning of the pageant, especially if there are several 
performances, but it is the only safe plan. In no other way 
can the episode directors know whether or not all of the 
members of their casts are present, costumed, and made up. 
The preliminary roll call and inspection makes it possible for 
the episode director to hurry out and find a substitute in case 
any important character is missing and get the substitute 
costumed and instructed in his part before it is time for the 
group to appear. No less than three such substitutions had 
to be made in one pageant. The groups in which they were 
made spent the time when they were waiting for their turn 
to appear in different dressing rooms and corridors rehears- 
ing the substitutes in their newly assumed parts. 

In selecting the cast for the different episodes it is well, 
as a precautionary measure, to make the cast considerably 
larger than is actually desired for the performance. A few 
minor characters, more or less, do not affect the integrity of 
the group unless it is a few less than the irreducible minimum 
for the episode. Then it is very noticeable. It is much 
better to have a few more in the group than is absolutely 
necessary than to have too few in it. By selecting a larger 
cast than is really needed one takes care of the liability of 
members of the cast to drop out, often for good reasons, at 
the last minute. Then if episode principals drop out it is 
easier to shift a minor character to the part than to train 
someone who has no knowledge of the episode action. 
There are always a few characters missing from every 
pageant performance. The number varies with local con- 
ditions. In one pageant given in a university town the final 
inspection showed at least fifty members of a cast of about 
two hundred and fifty persons absent from the performance. 



96 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

Except in emergency cases all dressing rooms should be 
cleared at the beginning of the pageant and the groups 
should be in their appointed places as instructed. It is true 
that this makes it difficult for persons to take more than one 
part but an attempt to take part in two or more episodes 
nearly always ends in disaster for one or the other of the 
episodes. In the Thanksgiving pageant several young men 
were allowed to take part in Episode I and in Episode IV. 
Episode IV appeared on the stage at the performance with 
very greatly depleted ranks. The explanation, given after- 
wards to the pageant master, was that these young men were 
still in the dressing rooms washing off the primitive makeup 
when they should have been on the stage in Episode IV 
witnessing the confirmation of the King of Kent. 

Beginning the Pageant. — With the costuming and 
makeup attended to on schedule time, the final inspection 
made, the dressing rooms cleared, and every group in its 
place, the pageant is ready to begin on time. Every pageant 
master can probably remember a performance, usually his 
first, that was late in beginning. A successful director soon 
learns to announce at the final rehearsal that the pageant 
will begin promptly at the time advertised whether or not all 
of the cast have reported, ready to appear. When the habit 
of promptness has been built up during the rehearsals there 
will be but little difficulty about beginning the performance 
on time. If the audience must wait twenty or thirty minutes 
after the specified time for the pageant to begin its attitude 
towards the pageant will be quite different from that of an 
audience not kept waiting after it is well seated. Orchestral 
preludes, not intimately associated with the main theme of 
the pageant, are a poor makeshift for promptness. They 
serve to distract the attention of the audience. Perhaps it 
would be more accurate to say that such preludes direct the 
attention of the audience along their own particular channels 
by awakening their own peculiar emotional responses. Then 
when the pageant opens, probably on an entirely different 



THE PERFORMANCE 97 

emotional key, there is the strain of unconscious readjust- 
ment and a consequent loss of interest. 

There are places where the audience has the habit of 
being fifteen or twenty minutes later than the hour set for 
beginning any evening entertainment. It is practically impos- 
sible to begin a pageant on time if the audience is still coming 
in and getting seated. The only thing that can be done in 
this case is to wait until the greater part of the audience is 
in, hurrying the doorkeepers and ushers as much as possible 
without making the audience feel as though they are being 
hurried. Since the corridors and aisles must be used by the 
pageant groups they must be comparatively clear before the 
pageant can begin. 

Ushers. — Belonging to the opening phase of the 
pageant is the ushering of the audience to the seats. When- 
ever reserved seats are sold there must be a body of ushers 
to locate them for the audience. In many theaters and in 
some auditoriums the managers have contracts with the 
regular group of ushers to the effect that whenever the build- 
ing is rented for any public entertainment this group of 
ushers will be used at a stated scale of prices. This means 
that in renting the building for a pageant the business 
manager must also employ these ushers and pay them accord- 
ing to their contract in addition to the rental of the building. 
Where this condition does not exist boy or girl scouts are 
often detailed to do the ushering. In the St. Louis municipal 
theater the boy scouts are employed. In the Savannah, 
Georgia, municipal auditorium the girl scouts have been 
trained for this work. Unless the boy or girl scouts are 
very well trained it is better to get more mature people to 
act as ushers. Young women, in uniform, under the direc- 
tion of another young woman as head usher have been found 
the most reliable and competent, especially in the case of a 
building where the audience is not accustomed to go, or for 
an out-of-door performance. The head usher will assign 
the other ushers to certain sections and then drill them in 



9 8 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

finding seats until they know the location of every number in 
every row in their sections. 

Discipline. — Discipline is usually thought of in con- 
nection with schools, the army, and the navy, but if there is 
any place where strict discipline should be maintained it is in 
the episode groups of a pageant during the full rehearsals 
and more especially during the performance. At the begin- 
ning of the pageant the first two episode groups will need to 
be waiting in the corridors or in the wings for their entrances 
since it would make unnecessary noise and confusion for 
them to go to their seats and then leave almost immediately 
to make their entrances. The other groups, too, must be 
kept near enough to the stage so that they may be ready for 
entrances as needed. In an indoor production they must be 
kept within the building. This means that practically all 
talking must be prohibited and that no member of the cast 
of any episode may leave except with the knowledge and 
consent of episode director. It may seem that this is 
extreme but long experience has shown that it is necessary. 
It is most disconcerting to find, when it is time for St. 
Catherine to bestow her sword and her blessing upon the 
Maid of France that the good saint has slipped away and 
gone joy riding .with the king of the West Saxons while 
waiting for the time when she is to appear. Even should 
they stay within the building the noise of the moving about 
of the performers is most objectionable. So much move- 
ment is necessary in making entrances and exits that all other 
moving about has to be prohibited. 

Tempo. — The emotional reaction of the audience, 
spoken of in a preceding paragraph, brings us to a considera- 
tion of the tempo of the performance. If the action of the 
pageant is allowed to drag, the attention of the audience 
wanders. On the other hand, if the tempo is too fast the 
pageant becomes a mad scramble for place which must be 
relinquished before it is well attained. The tempo will be 



• THE PERFORMANCE 99 

different in different episodes and will vary within certain 
episodes as the action demands. 

The pageant master must set the tempo and must give 
directions for varying it either by telephone or messenger as 
is necessary from time to time. When working towards a 
climax either of action or of massed characters the tempo 
will naturally be quickened. It should not, however, be 
quickened in so marked a manner that the audience will be 
conscious of it. The audience should feel only an added 
emotional exaltation without being conscious of its origin. 

The Pageant Master and the Performance. — 
The position of the pageant master during the performance 
should be such that he can command a view of the audience 
as well as of the stage. He will then be able to estimate very 
readily the attitude of the audience and act accordingly. If 
the audience is getting restless he can increase the tempo by 
having the orchestra play a little faster. In one out-of-door 
pageant with a storm approaching, the performance was 
shortened nearly fifteen minutes simply by having the music 
played more quickly than usual. The chances are that the 
audience was not aware of the increased tempo. Probably 
even the members of the cast were unconscious of it. The 
tempo of the music unconsciously influenced them and the 
whole performance went that much faster. Except for 
special reasons the pageant master should not stay behind 
the scenes nor in the wings during a performance. The 
details of management there should be left to the episode 
directors. If they are at all efficient there will be no need for 
him there and things will go fully as well if he stays out in 
front. 

All sorts of things may happen during a pageant but the 
pageant master can do very little to prevent them at the time 
of the performance. His work should have been completed, 
largely, with the final rehearsal except for setting the tempo 
and warning the episode groups of the time for their 
entrances when they are so placed that they cannot see for 



ioo THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

themselves. His best plan when things begin to go wrong is 
to remain quiet and let those involved extricate themselves. 
Intelligent people can ordinarily make the best of an awk- 
ward situation if they are not worried by commands from 
other people. The interruption to the orderly progress of 
events is less than when the pageant master tries to correct 
the error. The mere fact that he is taking the situation in 
hand exaggerates the effect of it. A group of colonial people 
in a certain pageant illustrate this point. There had not 
been sufficient rehearsals and then the last full rehearsal had 
to be dismissed because of a sudden change in the weather. 
The same cold wave made it necessary for the pageant to 
be given indoors, although the plan had been to have it 
outside. This meant no rehearsal in the building where the 
pageant was given. The colonial group failed to apply the 
instructions they had received as to the manner of their exit 
from the out-of-door stage to the limited conditions of the 
auditorium. They became excited, the pageant master, who 
was with the orchestra just in front of the stage, began to 
give them directions, the episode director, who was in the 
wings, gave them contrary directions, and they literally 
didn't know what to do. They finally did something and 
made an exit of sorts. The lesson of this is that if the 
pageant master had kept quiet they might have followed the 
directions of the episode director and saved themselves and 
the audience an embarrassing minute or two. 

An instance where the pageant master was wiser forms 
a contrast. In this case Joan of Arc was to enter mounted on 
her war horse. The young woman had never practiced the 
entrance with the horse, although the pageant master had 
repeatedly urged the necessity of it. The pageant was 
given in the evening and when the light was turned upon 
Joan the horse refused to approach. The pageant master 
simply kept the orchestra playing as though nothing unusual 
had happened. The young woman did her best to control 
the horse but finally dismounted, fastened the animal to a 
fence, and entered on foot. It was infinitely better for her 



THE PERFORMANCE 101 

to do this than for the pageant master to have embarrassed 
her by trying to settle her difficulty for her. These instances 
of what the pageant master should and should not do brings 
us to the close of the performance. 

Pageant Finales. — Many pageants, at the end, call 
for the massing on the stage of nearly all of the characters 
that have appeared in the pageant and of some new ones. 
The arrangement of these groups in the corridors and wings 
forms one of the difficult problems of the pageant master. 
The ones who enter first for this finale must take their places 
at the beginning of the preceding episode at the place where 
they are to enter. The group that will enter next after them 
must take its place directly behind this first group, moving 
up to the entrance as soon as the first group is out of the 
way. All groups in this finale must leave their seats at 
nearly the same time to take their places for this entrance. 
A high degree of discipline must be maintained while the 
members of the cast are waiting in the corridors and wings 
for this final entrance. Talking will be heard by the audience 
and will spoil the effect of the episode then playing. The 
most effective endings will be spoiled if there is much noise in 
the corridors at such times. 

A very impressive closing for a pageant where all of the 
characters are massed on the stage is to have a recessional. 
The groups, usually in the order in which they came to the 
stage, will march out, preferably down the main aisle, into 
the corridor and then directly to the dressing rooms. They 
must not be allowed to break ranks so long as they are in 
view of the audience. The massing of the cast at the end, 
followed by a recessional, occurs in the Thanksgiving 
pageant. 

It is exceedingly difficult to hold the members of the 
cast in the line until they are out of sight of the audience. 
It is especially true in an out-of-door pageant. The breaking 
of ranks, prematurely, robs the finale of all dignity and 
should be prevented by all means. The author recalls two 
such recessionals that show the extremes of this tendency to 



102 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

break ranks too soon. Both were out-of-door performances. 
In one case the hundreds of characters massed upon the 
stage left in order, wound their way across a bridge, and 
then were lost to view around a curve in the drive. Not a 
person left the line so long as they were in sight of the 
audience. It was a very beautiful and impressive sight. In 
the other case the persons massed on the stage left the stage 
in order but as soon as they had passed beyond the stage 
limits they broke ranks and, picking up their garments, 
classical and otherwise, climbed a fence and made, helter- 
skelter, for the dressing rooms. All this was in plain view 
of the audience. No record was kept of what the pageant 
master said on this occasion, but there is no doubt about his 
having said it. 

It is almost as difficult to hold the audience in the seats 
until the recessional has passed out of sight as it is to keep 
the members of the cast from breaking from the ranks as 
soon as they have left the stage. The Thanksgiving pageant 
was comparatively successful in holding the audience until 
the line had passed out. Two devices were employed to 
bring this about, either of which alone should have been 
enough to prevent them from leaving their seats and 
mingling with the cast in the recessional. Boy and girl 
scouts were lined up at the sides of the aisles as close 
together as their numbers would permit and they stood there 
until all the cast had left the stage, falling in behind by twos 
as the last of the line passed them. The other device was 
to have the audience sing America as the line passed out. 
Just enough verses were used to get all of the cast off the 
stage and out of the main entrance. Both of these devices 
together served to hold the audience until the recessional was 
over. Each, used alone at other times, has failed. There 
were, of course, other reasons for using these devices than 
the desire to hold the audience until after the recessional. 
Both were effective, dramatically, the singing of the song 
was an appropriate act of patriotism, and the boy and girl 
scouts were an essential part of the last episode. 



THE PERFORMANCE 103 

Lost and Found. — Although the dressing rooms are 
cleared of the members of the cast during the performance 
it is much better to have a responsible person in charge of 
each as a protection for the clothing and other property left 
in them by the cast. With so many people using so small a 
space as is usually available for dressing rooms small articles 
are sure to be lost, but if a reponsible person is in charge of 
each room during the pageant there will be little complaint 
on account of things being taken. Another way of caring 
for this matter is to establish a check room and advise all 
members of the cast to bring suitcases or traveling bags in 
which to put their things as soon as they get their costumes 
on, checking the bags immediately and then reclaiming them 
when the pageant is over. One great objection to this plan 
is that many pageant costumes have no pockets in which the 
check stubs can be kept during the performance. Many 
things are lost through the carelessness of the owners but 
many others are taken from the dressing rooms when no 
provision is made for caring for them. It cannot be pre- 
vented with the number of persons who have some part in 
the pageant. It is unavoidable that some should have little 
respect for property rights. The fact must be acknowledged 
and steps taken to guard against such losses. 

Many of the things reported lost at the end of the 
pageant are found in clearing out the dressing rooms. The 
dressing rooms, after a pageant, are a sight to discourage 
even the least orderly of mortals. Costumes and clothing 
of all descriptions are stacked in the middle of the floors or 
strewn about with no regard to their value or ownership. 
When the debris is cleared away most of the lost articles 
will have been found. Many of the articles found are never 
claimed. It is almost beyond belief that people will go home 
without shoes, hats, and all other articles of wearing apparel 
that usually go in between these two. As a matter of fact 
everything from shoes up to hats may often be found in the 
dressing rooms after a large pageant. Many of these things 
are doubtless parts of costumes worn in the pageant and dis- 



iQ4 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

carded afterward as useless, but this will not account for all 
of the things that are never claimed. 

Number of Performances. — Considering the time and 
expense involved in bringing a pageant to a successful per- 
formance, regret is often expressed that it is so soon over. 
That brings up the question of one or several performances. 
If more than one performance is given they must be given 
within a relatively short time, say a week, or the groups 
begin to disintegrate. Usually the business manager asks if 
the ticket office receipts will be augmented in proportion to 
the added expense of the extra performances. From an 
educational standpoint it is desirable that as many children 
as possible should see such a production. These considera- 
tions are sufficient to make advisable more than one per- 
formance of a pageant if it is possible to arrange for them. 

The necessity for all of the performances of a pageant 
being given within a comparatively short space of time is 
apparent when the number of persons involved is remem- 
bered. Some will become ill, others will be called out of 
town on business, and various other very good reasons will 
prevent some from taking part. The total number dropping 
out may not be very great but if among that number are 
many having important parts the substitution of new persons 
may be difficult. Because of the business men who are tak- 
ing part it is often impossible to arrange for afternoon per- 
formances of a pageant. Very often, however, all of the 
business men in a small city will agree to close their shops for 
the duration of the pageant on a certain day. Where this is 
possible two evening performances and an afternoon matinee 
will be sufficient except in a very large city where the per- 
formance may well be repeated every day for a full week. 
Saturday and Sunday afternoon performances are especially 
to be commended since adults as well as children are free at 
those times. Friday evening, Saturday evening, and Sunday 
afternoon would be a good schedule of performances for a 
small city. Thursday evening, Friday evening, and Sunday 
afternoon would be equally satisfactory. 



THE PERFORMANCE 105 

The business manager is interested first of all in the 
returns from the pageant, so his question is whether or not 
the returns from the extra performances will warrant the 
extra expense. Experience shows that a second and third 
performance of a pageant are as well attended as was the 
first performance. Indeed, the attendance is often larger as 
the effectiveness of the pageant becomes known. The 
expense of the extra performances is slight in comparison 
with the original expense. Usually the rent of the building 
and small amounts for lights and operators are all the 
expenses that are added. If professional actors and 
musicians are employed the expense of extra performances 
will, of course, be largely the same as for the initial per- 
formance but a real community pageant where all except the 
pageant master are amateurs, will not have these expenses 
even for the first performance. 

The educational value of a pageant to the people of a 
community cannot be estimated adequately. It far surpasses 
that of the drama or the films because it is talked about 
during the period of preparation and so those who see it 
have a background of knowledge that is verified and fixed 
by witnessing the spectacle. The pageant, in itself, has 
much greater historical value than any one film and is 
especially worth while for school children. The full dress 
rehearsal with a small admission makes possible the attend- 
ance of many children who otherwise could not see the 
pageant. A matinee is by far the better plan, however, with 
special rates for elementary and secondary school pupils. A 
few adults will attend a matinee of this sort and it is desir- 
able that they should, but they will be in the minority. 
Pageant officers often object when a matinee performance is 
proposed because they are afraid that an audience of chil- 
dren will be noisy and unruly. Their fear is not well 
founded. Matinees given in cities that were mining or 
industrial centers have proven exceedingly satisfactory. 
Buildings crowded to capacity with children were as quiet 
and orderly as any person could wish. The response of an 



106 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

audience of children is most stimulating to the actors. The 
constantly changing groups and steady action of a pageant 
hold the children's attention completely. The lack of words 
that they might not understand, anyway, is an added advan- 
tage. The active imaginations of childhood fill up all gaps 
and invest the characters with charm and grace and sincerity. 
Each performance, within limits, is better than the one 
preceding it in spite of changes in the cast that are necessary 
when dealing with large numbers of people. Three or four 
performances of the same pageant within a few days have 
not been uncommon in the experience of the author. In no 
case was there regret for having arranged for more than 
one performance. If the pageant is a worthy expression of 
some noted or impressive phase of the community's life, past 
or present, there must be a feeling of enlarged living in 
either seeing or enacting these noble events, and the feeling 
is augmented rather than diminished by the reasonable 
repetition of the experience. 



PART II 



PROGRAMME 

A PAGEANT OF 

THANKSGIVING 

Given Under the Auspices of 

Savannah Festival Association 

and 

S. H. S. Parent-Teacher Association 

by 

Faculty and Students of the Senior High School 
Under -Direction of the Principal 

November 29, 1919 
City Auditorium 



Incidental Music by the S. H. S. Orchestra 



PAGEANT OFFICERS 

Chairman DR. TAFT 

Business Manager MISS WINN 

Publicity Agent MISS WAYNE 

Pageant Artist MISS CABANISS 

Costumers. ..' MISS COOLEY, MISS VARNEDOE 

Electrician MR. FUNK 

Scenic Manager MR. McCREERY 

109 



no THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

A Pageant of Thanksgiving 

(Lines of Central Figures by Dr. Taft.) 



The ceremonies and celebrations held by different peoples in thankfulness for blessings received or 
for notable victories won. 

HYMN OF THANKSGIVING 

{To be sung by audience, standing) 

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; 
Praise Him all creatures here below; 
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts; 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

PROLOGUE 

Despair questions the right of the Spirit of Thanksgiving to her outlook towards the future. Hope 
calk upon the nations of the world to reproduce their great moments of Thanksgiving, showing not 
only how the Spirit of Thanksgiving has developed and become purified, but how in the agony of the 
world-war a fellowship in service was built up that blossomed out into a world-wide Thanksgiving 
when the armistice was signed. 

Spirit of Thanksgiving — Marian Hartfelder. 

Despair — Mildred Thomas. 

Hope — Evelyn Thompson. 

Heralds — Paris Atkins, Robert Bissett, W. V. Davis, Jr., Roddy Pritchard, Beverly Rockwell, 

Rhanston Stillwell. 
Attendants — W. C. Carlisle, Maude Warren, Lloyd Edenfield, Sarah Shuptrine, Frank Teeple, 
Morton Waring, Max Pruitt, Helena Cunningham, Robert Snead, Humphrey McCranie, 
Hattie Pead, Lucy Penton, Inez Helfrich, Wesley McCarroll, Jesse Jackson, Kathryn White, 
William Stubbs, Ruth Helfrich. 

EPISODE I 

A Primitive Pastoral Thanksgiving 

Director — H. G. Swayne 

A Primitive People make offerings to the Gods whom they fear as well as worship as an act of 
propitiation rather than of thanksgiving. 

King of Tribe — Ambrose Solomon. 

Favorite Son— John Lanier. 

Princess — Gracie Lanneau. 

Sorcerer — William Lowndes. 

High Priest — Claude Youmans. 

Priestesses — Inez Keller, Ruth Morrow, Emma Dunwoody, Mabel Carter. 

Slaves of the King — Spencer Rockwell, Samuel Newton, John Snead, Abram Leffier. 

Shepherd of the Flocks — Hugh Saussy. 

Shepherdesses — Angela Altick, Natalie DeWald, EHzabeth Granberry, Catherine Parnelle. 

Warriors and Members of Tribe— Louise Stokes, Catherine Corish, Ruth Aimar, Bertha 
Bookhoop, Susie Clyburn, Walter Hughes, Joseph Levington, Mary Sheehan, Sadie Meyers, 
Margaret Johnson, Helen Lind, Dorothy Allan, Ravenal Gignilliat, Decatur Hankins. 



EPISODE II 

The Panathenaea 
Director — Miss Olmstead 

Once each year the Greeks went in a processional up to the shrine of Athene with the new robe 
specially woven for their patron goddess. 

Greeks — Robert McPherson, William Wade, James Snedeker, Otis Jones, J. T. Chapman, Jr., 
Romana Galloway, Elizabeth Inglesby, Mary Waring, Dorothy Sellers, Gladys Cook, Katherine 
Smith, Sara Clark, Katherine McGraw, Cornelia Cunningham, Margaret Clay, Margaret Debele, 
Elizabeth Wells, Anne Hancock, Mary Wamsley, Marianne Sugden, Pamela Baker, Margaret 
Wells, Mahla Kent, Eleanor Reid, Elizabeth Galllard, Herman Parish, George Cargill, Charles 
Lebey, Henry Hodgkins, Otto Schwalb, James Dotson, May Veruki, Mildred Grabble, Annie 
Laurie Connor, Kline Allen, James Breckenridge, Albert Waite, George Hahn, George Todd, 
Clement Johnson. 



A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING in 



EPISODE III 

Pax Romans 

Director — Miss Magone 

The Romans celebrate peace in the Roman dominions, after conflict, in a characteristic 
and offerings to the Gods. 

Augustus — C. F. Wiehrs, Jr. 

Ball Players — James Downey, Robert Lockett. 

Flute Players — Bernard Fuchs, Benjamin Symons. 

Dancers — Katherine Corish, Ruth Ferst, Dorothy Gordon, Sarah Levy, Willa Webb, Elizabeth 

Kaplan, Varian Brooke. 
Senators — Lehmon Bowen, Emanuel Lewis, Alfonso Orsini, Meyer Morris. 
Matrons and Maidens — Martha Youngblood, Alice Woodruff, Lamar Lucas, Katherine 

Collins, Lorraine Hendry, Lutie Webb, Elizabeth Stone, Letitia McKay, Bertha Bradley, Mary 

Deegan. 
Egyptian Dancers — Hilda Span, Luella Tripp, Ethyl Wilson, Lily Belle Frost. 
Youths — Louis Friedman, Albert Grimm. 



EPISODE IV 

Confirmation of Ethelbert, King of Kent 

Director — Mr. Hodge 

The crowning achievement of St. Augustine's missionary efforts in Britain was the conversion and 
subsequent confirmation of the King of Kent. 
St. Augustine — William Robinson. 
Priests — I. J. Gaines, D. B. Hodge. 
Crucifer — Henry Glenn. 
Ethelbert — Kenneth Leautey. 
Queen — Olga Siem. 
Ladies of Court — Marie Bargeron, Anna Asendorff , Gertrude Schwalb, Alice Hillis, Eloise Hester, 

Willie Godley. 
Courtiers — Charles Haddon, Joe Greenberg, John Lytjen. 



< - EPISODE V 

Crowning of Dauphin of France 

Director — Mrs. Strong 

As a symbol of tne victories'of the French under Joan of Arc over the English the Dauphin h 
crowned in the Cathedral of Rheims. 
Joan or Arc — Miss Varnedoe. 
Joan's Squire— John Foy. 
Archbishop of Rheims — Huger Williams. 
Priest — Jack Craig. 
Priest — Robert Pollock. 
Acolytes — Ravenal Gignilliat, Kurt Nanninga. 
Dauphin — Frank Exley. 
Dauphine — Marian Hesse. 
Constable of France — Cornelius Ford. 
Princes — Hugh Saussy, Frances Galloway, Arthur Hillbraith. 
Ladies in Waiting — Joan Harti elder, Lily Folger, Marie Michel, Veda Royall, Elizabeth Goodrich, 

Mildred Geiger, Katherine Mulford, Elizabeth Norton, Ethel Powell, Dorothy Grayson, 

Hannah Foss, Marie Krieger, Myrtle Burney, Isabel Beasley. 
Courtiers — Lamar Cunningham, Edward Lovell, James Greene. 
Men-at-Arms — James Sweat, Claude Youmans, Ridgeley Warfield, William Reckling. 
Pages — Alice Weichselbaum, Josephine Hirsch. 



EPISODE VI 

Return of Columbus 

Director — Miss Jones 

Columbus is received at the Court of Ferdinand and Isabella in honor of his discovery of a new 
world. 

Isabella — Martha Perkins. 

Ferdinand — Langford Anderson. 

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court — Justine Savarese, Helen Whalen, Rita Eisenberg, Marion 
Stubbs, Anne Christie, Evangeline Grimm, Mary Forney, Annie Frierson, Leila Cubbedge, 
Marie Garfain, Anna Pritchard, Charles Wiehrs, Jules Benton, Sam Idelsohn, Reginald Mitchell, 
Philip Schirm, Lawrence Bissett. 

Columbus — Quincy Hodges. 

Indians — Clifford Roberts, Carl Rustin, William Mobley, Frances Stubbs, Margaret LaFar. 



ii2 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 



EPISODE VII 

The First American Thanksgiving 

Director — Miss Beard 

The Pilgrims, after their first year in the new world, met to return thanks to God for their preserva- 
tion and to feast with their Indian neighbors. 
Governor Bradford — Ambrose Solomon. 
Pilgrims— Alberta Carson, Kayton Smith, Marguerite Teeple, Mildred Corson, Marie Green, 

Elizabeth Loadholt, Margaret Mustin, Arthur Davis, Albert Rauzin, William Lowndes, Herbert 

Hutton, Edward Leonard, Arthur Carter, Thomas Alnwtt, Miriam Stokes, Gladys Wolf, Beth 

Setze, Louise Strickland, Lorraine Dugger. 
Indians — Clarence Miller, Herbert Matthews, Horace Friedman, George Heriot, John Collins, 

Richard Dutton, John Ohsiek, Nell McEachern, Leola Clark, Anna Clarkin, Orlean Cubbedge, 

Margaret Coulling, Jeanette Harris. 

EPISODE vin 

The Federation of the World 

Director — Mrs. Downey 

The nations of the world join in thanksgiving at the signing of the Armistice. 

Serbia — Walter Strong. 

Russia — Mrs. Floyd, Miss Baggs, Mr. Clower, Mr. Dyer. 

Belgium — Mrs. J. S. Howkins, Miss Eugenia Johnston, Mrs. N. J. Gillespie, Mrs. J. J. Powers, 

Mrs. # Thomas Purse, Mrs. Wilbur Coney, Mrs. F. C. Battey, Mrs. L. M. LeHardy, Mrs. H. H. 

Lattimore. 
France — Margaret Lane. 
Britain — Etta May Rimes. 
Japan — Anna Palmer. 
Italy — Minnie Friedman. 
Greece — May Veruki. 
America — Frances Wall. 
Girl Scouts. 
Boy Scouts. 

Marines — Sergt. Martin DeFrank, Sergt. J. A. Bowen. 
Sailors— Sergt. J. W. Towe, Mr. A. L. Stalnecker. 
Y. M. C. A.— Karl Sisterhemn, Mr. Willard Flynn. 

War Camp Community Service — Mrs. Iola G. Bishop, Miss Martin Sasnett. 
Overseas Service — Miss Sarah Elliott. 

Surgical Dressings — Miss Ruth Stanton, Miss Gertrude Maree. 
Motor Corps — Mrs. Karl Sisterhemn, Miss Eliza Schley, Miss Emma Walthour. 
Canteen — Mrs. Edwin Cubbedge, Miss Rosalie Dana. 

Hospital Social Service — Miss Marie Love, Miss Hazel McNees. t 

Home Service — Miss Mary Paul Wallace, Miss Martha Young. 
Knitting — Helen Wilkins, Louise Jarrott, Mary Walker. 
Nursing Corps — Cassie Sowell, Mary Pettus. 

IX— RECESSIONAL 

As the United States flag leaves the stage in the Recessional the audience is requested to stand and 
sing America. 

America 

My country! 'Tis of thee, My native country, thee — 

Sweet land of liberty, Land of the noble free, 

Of thee I sing; Thy name I love; 

Land where my fathers died I I love thy rocks and rills, 

Land of the Pilgrim's pride! Thy woods and templed hills; 

From ev'ry mountain side My heart with rapture thrills, 

Let freedom ring. Like that above. 

Our fathers' God! to Thee 
Author of Liberty, 

To Thee we sing! 
Long may our land be bright 
With freedom's holy light 1 
Protect us by Thy might, 
Great God, our King! 



A Pageant 
of Thanksgiving 



BY 

LINWOOD TAFT, Ph.D. 



Being the ceremonies and celebrations held 
by different peoples in thankfulness for bless- 
ings received or for notable victories won. 



Application for the right to produce this 
Pageant should be made to the publishers 



A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING 

INTRODUCTION 

At the beginning of the pageant and before the curtain 
rises the orchestra plays "Old Hundred" through once. 
This serves as a prelude. Immediately the audience rises 
and sings to that tune the following Hymn of Thanksgiving. 

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; 
Praise Him all creatures here below; 
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts; 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

As the hymn of praise is finished the curtain rises. The 
orchestra continues to play "Old Hundred" while the audi- 
ence is being seated and until quiet is restored. At the right 
of the stage and near the front is a dais about two feet high 
and large enough for the throne-like seat of the Spirit of 
Thanksgiving and for Hope who stands at her right. On a 
low stool at the left and near the feet of Thanksgiving is 
seated Despair, crouched over, with hair falling over her 
face. Two Attendants, a young man and a young woman, 
stand at each side of this group and form a part of it. 
Opposite this group at the left of the stage is a platform six 
inches high and about four feet square. Upon this platform 
is an altar. In front of the altar and facing the group about 
Thanksgiving stands, as the curtain rises, a group of eight 
Heralds with bugles. About the stage in attractive group- 
ings are fourteen other Attendants. At the center of the 
stage near the back is another platform six inches high and 
five feet square. A broad flight of steps lead from the stage 
to the floor of the auditorium. 

"5 



n6 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

PROLOGUE 

Spirit of Thanksgiving 

Hope 

Despair 

Attendants (eighteen) 

Heralds (eight, with bugles) 

After the singing of the opening hymn the orchestra, as 
before stated, continues the music of "Old Hundred" until 
quiet is restored. As the last chord dies away Hope speaks. 

Hope. — Such unison of praise and thanksgiving uprising to the throne 
of the most high God can spring only from a people with a single aim, a 
single purpose, and a single vision. 

Thanksgiving. — Long have I hoped for a world-wide unison of 
thanksgiving: a world at peace, praising God from whom all blessings 
flow. Ages ago, before History was, primitive peoples gathered in from 
the chase and from their rude harvests and gave thanks to the gods they 
feared and worshiped. Such half-praise, half-propitiation, with intent 
for personal, individual profit, was only the first faint beginning of real 
thankfulness and praise. Other peoples in later ages gathered together 
in gorgeous ceremonials to fittingly express their joy over national con- 
quests. Yet even this was but imperfect, partial praise — an exultation 
over the downfall of another sister nation. 

Shall there ever be a full, unrestricted, unselfish thanksgiving welling 
up from the heart of the world ? 

Hope. — With this song of praise still in our ears how can we doubt 
the universal brotherhood of man expressed in hymns of praise? 

Despair. — To-day ye join in praise, yes. But how of yesterday? 
And will not to-morrow and all the morrows yet to come be filled with 
petty aims, self-seeking, strife for place and power, unworthy deeds and 
individual rather than universal gain? 

Hope. — Call forth thy soul, Despair, that it may look upon the souls 
of nations deeply moved to thankfulness. Let it no longer remain crouched 
in gloom perceiving only the world's mere material seeming. It is only in 
great moments that the souls of nations as of men stand forth in their true 
aspects. Could you recall pictures of the past you would see how the 
spirit of Thanksgiving has ever reached higher and more exalted planes 
as the centuries have passed and the peoples of the world have struggled 
onward and upward. 

Thanksgiving. — O clear-eyed Hope, favored daughter of the stars, 
recall, I pray thee, these exalted moments of the nations. It is only 
through thee, if ever, that we may see and know their aspirations and their 
promise. 



A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING 117 

At a signal from Hope the Heralds and all of the 
Attendants except the four standing beside the Spirit of 
Thanksgiving take their stations and await the entrance of 
the episode groups. There should be a Herald at right and 
left of the stage by the main entrances from the wings, and 
a pair of Heralds by each of the entrances to the auditorium. 
We are assuming a rear or east entrance and two side 
entrances, north and south, connecting by a cross aisle with 
the main aisle which runs from the east entrance up to the 
stage. At each entrance as many pairs of Attendants take 
their stations as episode groups will enter there. These 
figures are always in view of the audience and must hold 
their pose throughout the time they are waiting. 



EPISODE I 

A PRIMITIVE PASTORAL THANKSGIVING 

Hope. — First we must see how primitive man sought the protection 
and favor of his Gods. 

The Herald at the right of the stage blows a bugle call 
and the pair of Attendants assigned to this group lead on the 
people of Episode I. The Attendants take their places at 
the extreme front of the stage, one at the left and the other 
at the right, against the arch and facing each other. At the 
end of the episode they follow the group from the stage. 

King 

Favorite Son 

Princess 

Sorcerer 

High Priest 

Priests or Priestesses 

Slaves of the King 

Shepherd of the Flocks 

Shepherds and Shepherdesses 

Warriors 

Members of the Tribe 

An oriental pastoral people make offerings to the Gods 
whom they fear as well as worship as an act of propitiation 
rather than of thanksgiving. They enter in processional 
form singing a rude harvest song. 

Hail ! O thou Mighty Ones ! 
Gods of the harvest! 
Take of our increase 
First-born and fairest. 
Grant us protection, 
Keep us from cold and harm, 
Bless with abundance, 
Make us thy chosen ones. 

118 



A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING 119 

So may thy altar fires 
Ne'er be extinguished, 
Never be lacking gifts; — 
Grain, fruits, or flesh! 

The Slaves of the King carry a rude canopy over him 
as he walks. He takes his place near the center of the stage, 
the others grouping around him according to their rank. 
One by one the people come forward and show the offerings 
they have brought. The Priests confer as to the value of 
each gift and signify their approval or displeasure to the 
King, who praises or rebukes accordingly. Among others 
the Sorcerer comes forward with his wand and basket and 
shows how he will honor the gods by his greatest magic — 
the charming of the snake in his basket. (This can be man- 
aged by strings tied to the snake's head and manipulated 
from the wings.) After the offerings have been shown the 
rude chant is again begun and the group leaves the stage by 
the left exit, followed by their Attendants. 



EPISODE II 

THE PANATHENiE 

Hope. — A pagan people, rejoicing always in the fullness of life, still 
remember that it is meet for them to set aside special days for votive 
offerings to the gods who have blessed them with happiness and plenty. 

The Heralds at the east, entrance to the auditorium 
sound a bugle call and the Attendants assigned to Episode II 
lead on the Greeks. 

Once each year the Greeks went in a processional up to 
the shrine of Athene with the new saffron robe specially 
woven for their patron goddess. So now come two Flute 
Boys leading (about ten feet behind the Attendants) the 
procession. Then come the Priests bearing the saffron- 
colored robe. They are followed by men and women, 
youths and maidens, all bearing some offering to Athene. 
Some carry jars of oil, others baskets of fruit or garlands of 
flowers. Among other things carried as offerings are baskets 
of wheaten cakes. A maiden carries a small harp across the 
strings of which she, from time to time, draws her fingers. 
The young men carry their swords and spears which, with 
their shields, they will dedicate anew to their patron goddess. 

This is a joyous ceremonial and as the procession winds 
its way up the steps and across the stage to the left exit the 
people are happy and carefree, and talk and laugh with 
some abandon, although they retain their places in the pro- 
cession. 



I2« 



EPISODE III 

PAX ROMANA 

Hope. — The ancient Romans, doing everything in an orderly way, 
ordain a special day of celebration for the establishing of peace in the 
Roman World. 

The Heralds stationed at the south entrance to the audi- 
torium blow a bugle call and the pair of Attendants assigned 
to Episode III lead on the Romans in the following order. 

Ballplayers (two small boys) 

Flute Players (four youths) 

Dancers (six or eight) 

Augustus 

Senators 

Matrons and Maidens 

Egyptian Dancers 

Youths 

The Romans celebrate peace in the Roman dominions, 
after conflict, in a characteristic procession and offering to 
the Gods. Behind the Attendants come two small boys 
running about and playing with a soft rubber ball. Four 
youths come next with pipes of reed or cane upon which 
they appear to play. Following them and dancing as though 
to their piping comes a group of maidens in Grecian cos- 
tumes. They have no studied steps in the dance but each 
expresses joy in free movements. The group should have 
the appearance of being composed of running, whirling, and 
posturing figures that, however free their movements 
appear, yet keep to the space apportioned to them in the 
processional. Augustus, reverent and dignified, bears in 
both hands at the height of his eyes a brazen bowl in which 
incense is burning. 

121 



122 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

As the Attendants reach the stage they separate and take 
their stations at the extreme front of the stage at the left 
and right against the arch. The Senators group themselves 
near the altar. The Matrons stand near the center of the 
stage. The others group themselves at the back. Augustus 
approaches the altar, steps up on the platform, lifts high the 
bowl of incense, and then places it on the altar. While 
Augustus is doing this the others stand with uplifted faces 
and arms extended in supplication. Augustus makes a rev- 
erent obeisance before the altar and then takes his place near 
the Senators. The Egyptian Dancers now come before the 
altar and do a characteristic dance that would leave an 
impression of reverence and praise. As this dance is finished 
the Attendants come together in the center of the stage and 
lead the group off at the right stage exit. Augustus ap- 
proaches the altar, steps up on the platform, lifts high the 
bowl of incense, steps down, and then, turning, takes his 
place in the procession. The music accompanying the action 
ceases as the group has left the stage and Despair speaks. 

Despair. — What cause for hope is here? Did they not use their day 
of thanksgiving as opportunity for fresh conspiracies and fratracidal strife? 

Hope. — Truly the Romans did besmear the escutcheon of their honor 
with petty jealousies, strife for place and power, and with personal ambi- 
tion, but they so organized the ideas and ideals of men that other nations 
might go forward from the height they themselves were barely able to 
reach. In the fullness of their triumphs they still remembered the 
heathen on the borders of their dominions and through their Bishop, 
now Saint, Augustine the British King of Kent is brought to a joyful 
submission to the Christian faith. 



EPISODE IV 

CONFIRMATION OF THE KING OF KENT 

The Heralds on the stage, first the one on the right and 
then the one on the left, sound a bugle call and the Attend- 
ants assigned to Episode IV lead on from the right stage 
entrance the following characters. 

Ethelbert, King of Kent 

His Queen 

Ladies of the Court 

Courtiers 

Warriors 

The crowning achievement of St. Augustine's missionary 
efforts in Britain was the conversion and subsequent con- 
firmation of Ethelbert, King of Kent. So these characters 
come in and form a group at the right center of the stage as 
the Attendants take their places at the front by the arch. 
Then from the left of the stage come a Crucifer carrying a 
silver cross, two priests, and St. Augustine with a double 
silver crozier, as in a processional before service. They take 
their places near the altar, St. Augustine in front of it, a 
Priest at each side of him, and the Crucifer at the left of the 
altar. St. Augustine gives his crozier to a Priest, who 
returns it after the confirmation. Ethelbert takes off his 
crown and hands it to a Courtier and then kneels before St. 
Augustine. All of the court also kneel, on both knees. St. 
Augustine lays his hands upon the King's head, holding them 
there as long as it would take to speak the confirmatory 
sentence. Then, while all are kneeling, he gives the Epis- 
copal benediction. As they stand, Ethelbert returns to his 
place and resumes his crown. The Crucifer leads the pro- 
cession from the stage at the left. He is followed by the 
Priests, St. Augustine, the Court, and the Attendants. 

123 



EPISODE V 
THE CROWNING OF THE DAUPHIN OF FRANCE 

As a symbol of the victories of the French under Joan 
of Arc over the English, the Dauphin is crowned in the 
Cathedral of Rheims. 

Dauphin 

Dauphine 

Pages 

Constable of France 

Princes 

Ladies in Waiting 

Courtiers 

Men-at-Arms 

Crucifer 
Acolytes 

Assisting Bishops 
Archbishop of Rheims 
Joan of Arc 
Joan's Squire 

Hope. — Again unfaltering faith in God and in his Saints brings help 
to a despairing people. The Maid of France, vision-led, crowns the 
Dauphin at Rheims in symbol of the saving of the Kingdom of France. 

The Heralds at the south entrance to the auditorium 
blow a bugle call and the Attendants assigned to Episode V 
lead on the French Court group, in the order listed, up the 
aisle to the stage, taking their places by the arch at the front 
as the court groups about the Dauphin and Dauphine 
towards the right of the stage. The Page who has been 
supporting the train of the Dauphine spreads it out. The 
other rests the standard (white with gold fleur-de-lis) he 
carries on the floor, holding it erect with his right hand. 

124 



A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING 125 

The Constable, who carries the crown on a cushion, stands 
just at the left of the Dauphin. A Courtier is near. 

The church group now marches in from the left of the 
stage in the order named in the cast. The Crucifer carries 
a gold cross. He stands at the left of the altar but back 
from it. The acolytes carry lighted candles in tall candle- 
sticks which they place on the altar after proper obeisance. 
They stand at each side of the altar during the coronation. 
The Archbishop and the attending Bishops stand before 
the altar. Joan, who is in armor but without helmet, takes 
her place near the constable. Her Squire, who carries her 
white banner spangled with silver fleur-de-lis, stands behind 
her. 

When all are in place Joan hands her sword and shield 
to her squire, receives the cushion with the crown from the 
Constable, and takes her place beside the attending Bishop 
nearest her. The Dauphin removes the rich cape he is 
wearing, hands it to the Courtier standing near, and kneels 
before the Archbishop. Joan presents the crown to the 
Bishop, who lifts it from the cushion and passes it to the 
Archbishop of Rheims, who lifts it high as though presenting 
it for divine blessing and then places it on the head of the 
kneeling Dauphin. The court stands with bowed heads while 
the Archbishop blesses them. As the Attendants come from 
the sides where they have been standing to lead the group back 
down the aisle to the south entrance, the Dauphin goes back 
to the Dauphine, his cape is replaced, and they follow the 
church group as they leave the stage behind the Attendants. 
The Acolytes, meanwhile, have taken the candles from the 
altar with suitable obeisance and have fallen into line behind 
the Crucifer, as in their entrance. The Bishops, the Arch- 
bishop, and the Court follow in order. 

Despair watches them curiously as they disappear. 

Despair. — Yet these same Frenchmen, with the coronation of their 
prince fresh in their memories, yield up their savior to the savage hate 
and bigotry of their enemies — a human sacrifice upon an altar of fire? Is 
this a fitting expression of thanksgiving! 



i26 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

Hope. — They erred, 'tis true. The few, seeing according to their 
faith and acting for the many, did deliver the Maid over to death and to 
calumny worse than death, but her ideal of service to her king and to her 
country triumphed over the bonds of death and hate and her spirit 
became the inspiration of millions of Frenchmen who revered her name 
and presently elevated her to their most exalted galaxy of saints where 
she is honored and glorified. In all their battles in the times since then 
they have felt that she has fought for them. Her spirit has given them 
courage even to the saying of an implacable and almost irresistible foe 
on the field of Verdun, "They shall not pass." 

But there had not yet been time for men to rise above the fears 
and superstitions of an earlier age. Yet the end of the same century 
whose early years saw the celebration, with mass and coronation, of 
the overthrow of a sister nation, saw a more magnificent spectacle pro- 
claimed in honor of the peaceful conquest of a new world. Spain 
honors Columbus for the discovery of a New World. 



EPISODE VI 

COLUMBUS RECEIVED AT THE COURT OF SPAIN 

Columbus is received at the Court of Ferdinand and 
Isabella in honor of his discovery of*a new world. 

Ferdinand 

Isabella 

Ladies of the Court 

Gentlemen of the Court 

Columbus 
Indians 

The Heralds stationed at the east entrance to the audi- 
torium blow a call and the Attendants for Episode VI lead 
the Spanish Court group up the center aisle to the stage, 
taking their places at the front by the arch as the King and 
Queen mount the small platform at the rear of the stage and 
the members of the court group themselves around, leaving 
the center of the stage free. 

Columbus, followed by the Indians, comes on from the 
right of the stage. They take their places near the center 
of the stage. Columbus kneels before the King, who 
invites him to stand. He rises and faces the King in such 
a manner that he presents nearly a side view to the audience. 
He calls the Indians forward one by one and exhibits the 
things they carry as trophies of the new world in the west. 
One Indian may carry some ears of corn, another a live 
parrot, another some rude gold ornaments. The Chief 
removes his headdress for the inspection of the King, who 
passes it to a Lady. She tries it on, to the alarm of the 
Chief and to the joy of the court. Indian women have bowls 
and jars of clay, baskets, and bead ornaments. 

127 



128 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

When everything has been admired the entire group 
leaves the stage by the right stage entrance, followed by the 
Attendants. As the King and Queen move towards the exit 
they pause and motion for Columbus to follow them, pre- 
ceding the court. The Indians come at the end, single file, 
just ahead of the Attendants. 

Despair has watched throughout the scene with her eyes 
on Columbus. As the music ceases she turns to Hope. 

Despair. — Another devoted leader, bringing to his sovereign glory 
and honor and riches and power — yet he dies in poverty and extreme 
neglect, bowed down by the ignominy of chains and imprisonment. 

Hope. — Be patient yet a little longer, Sister of my Heart. In the end 
you yet shall see a world at last conscious of its responsibilities to those 
individuals who have made their all-but-supreme sacrifice for a universal 
peace and for their ideal of democracy. Yet first one other picture 
would I show. The Pilgrim Fathers, established for religious freedom on 
a bleak and rock-bound shore, hold a day of solemn thanksgiving and 
feasting with their native neighbors in memory of the watchful care and 
protection of the Father of us all. 



EPISODE VII 

THE FIRST AMERICAN THANKSGIVING 

The Pilgrims, after their first year in the new world, 
meet to return thanks to God for their preservation and to 
feast with their Indian neighbors. 

The Heralds stationed at all entrances blow, in succes- 
sion, a bugle call. Attendants who have been standing near 
the stage entrances since the beginning of Episode I come 
forward and take their places by the arch at the front of the 
stage. From the various entrances come, in couples and 
small groups, the Pilgrims, who meet and greet each other 
on the stage as people are wont to do in a public place. This 
should be done calmly and deliberately, without hurry. Last 
of all comes a group of Indians, braves and squaws, with a 
group of Indian girls behind them. The Indians do not 
mingle very freely with the Pilgrims but keep somewhat 
apart. 

After suitable greetings have been extended to the 
Indians Governor Bradford steps forward and reads a 
Thanksgiving lesson : 

When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them 
that dream. 

Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: 
then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for 
them. 

The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. 

Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. 

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 

He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless 
come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. — (Psalm 126.) 

Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in 
the congregation of the saints. 

129 



130 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

Let Israel rejoice in him that made him; let the children of Zion be 
joyful in their King. 

Let them praise his name in the dance; let them sing praises unto him 
with the timbrel and harp. 

For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people; he will beautify the meek 
with salvation. — (Psalm 149, 1-4.) 

Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: Praise him in the 
firmament of his power. 

Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent 
greatness. 

Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery 
and harp. 

Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed 
instruments and organs. 

Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding 
cymbals. 

Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. 
— (Psalm 150.) 

The group of Indian maidens dance the corn dance which 
symbolizes the digging of the hills for the corn, planting, 
covering, reaping, husking, and grinding it, and finally the 
offering of the meal to the Great Spirit. As the dance ends 
the Attendants come together at the center of the stage and 
lead the Pilgrims and Indians out the center aisle through 
the east entrance to the auditorium. 



EPISODE VIII 

THE FEDERATION OF THE WORLD 

The nations of the world join in thanksgiving at the 
signing of the armistice. 

Hope. — So from its far-off rude beginnings have we sejen the spirit of 
praise and thankfulness grow and purify itself. We now shall see ful- 
filled the vision of the poet of an earlier age who looked. 

"... into the future far as human eye could see; 
Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be, — 

Till the war-drum throbb'd no longer, and the battle flags were furled 
In the Parliment of man, the Federation of the world." 

We shall see with what universal acclaim the nations of the world only 
two short years ago, abandoning the daily occupations of life and gath- 
ering in the public places and houses of worship, gave voice to their over- 
powering thankfulness. Their joy was not, mark you, Despair, that a 
nation had gone down in defeat by force of arms, but that a higher con- 
ception of democracy became potentially realized with the overthrow of 
autocracy and the establishment of the Parliament of man, the Feder- 
ation of the world visioned by the poet. 

I will now unroll before you the procession of the nations joining 
together in heartfelt praise over the signing of the document that put 
an end to the horrors of that great disaster of the centuries. As they 
come mark how the great and good of the past return to reinforce the 
present and how the present, through its organized youth, looks for- 
ward with yet new promise to a still more exalted future. 

The Heralds at the south entrance sound their trumpets 
and a man in Serbian costume, carrying the Serbian flag 
comes to the stage to the music of the national anthem. He 
stands on the platform at the rear of the stage facing the 

131 



i 3 2 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

south and east. The Heralds at the north entrance sound a 
call and a woman in long lilac and purple robes, carrying the 
Belgian flag, comes to the stage. She is followed by eight 
other women in lilac and gray. Belgium stands on the small 
platform near Serbia. Her followers line up behind her 
facing her flag instead of the audience. The entrance of 
Belgium is accompanied by the national air. The Heralds 
at the east entrance now sound a call and two men, one car- 
rying the flag of the Russian provisional government, and 
two women in Russian peasant costumes, singing the old 
Russian Hymn, without accompaniment, come up the center 
aisle and take their places behind and facing Serbia. In this 
way they face the center of the stage near the back. They 
balance the followers of Belgium, who are on the opposite 
side of the stage. The Heralds at the south entrance blow 
a call and a young woman in pink carrying the French flag 
comes to the stage and stands beside the Russian who carries 
the flag. She is followed at a distance of twenty feet by the 
people of Episode V led by their Attendants. They go up 
stage, pass between France and the Russians, and stand 
behind and facing the French flag rather than the audience. 
The line may extend into the wings if there is not room 
on the stage. It is essential that the line be kept unbroken. 
The Heralds at the north entrance now sound a call and a 
young woman in dull pale green carrying the British flag 
comes to the stage and stands opposite France and facing 
her at a distance of four feet. Britain is followed at a 
distance of twenty feet by the people of Episode IV lead by 
their Attendants. They pass up the center of the stage 
between Britain and France, then turn to the left between 
Britain and the Belgians and stand back of and facing the 
British flag. This and all other groups may extend out into 
the wings if necessary in order to keep the line intact for the 
Recessional. Japan, represented by a single figure carrying 
the Japanese flag or by a group following the leader with 
the flag, is now announced by the Heralds at the south 
entrance and comes to join her ally, Britain. They stand at 



A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING 133 

the end of the line behind the British flag. The Heralds at 
the south entrance now sound another call and a young 
woman in lavender carrying the Italian flag comes to the 
stage and stands beside France. The people of Episode III 
led by their Attendants come as the others have done and, 
passing between Italy and France, fall in line facing the 
Italian flag. From the north entrance a call is sounded and 
a young woman in pale yellow carrying the Greek flag comes 
to the stage and stands beside Britain and facing Italy. The 
people of Episode II, led by their Attendants, follow and, 
passing between Greece and Britain, stand facing their flag. 
A call is now sounded from the east entrance and as the 
orchestra begins to play the Star Spangled Banner, Boy 
Scouts and Girl Scouts, two by two, march in from both 
north and south entrances. As these lines meet at the center 
aisle the lines on the stage side join, each leaving the former 
partner and taking a new one from the other line, and 
marching toward the stage. At the same time the other lines 
have joined and marched toward the east entrance. They 
all now face their partners and move backward until they 
are near the seats, leaving the open aisle between the lines. 
They stand at "salute" until the young woman in white carry- 
ing the United States flag comes from the east entrance and, 
passing between the lines of scouts, takes her place on the stage 
beside Italy. The scouts now stand at "attention" until the 
end of the pageant. The Pilgrims, led by their Attendants, 
follow the United States flag up the aisle between the lines 
of scouts and, passing between America and Italy, stand 
facing the flag. While the Star Spangled Banner is still 
being played representatives of all forms of war service 
come and stand in line opposite the United States flag and 
fac-ing it and the Pilgrims. The following are suggested as 
suitable for this group: Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, etc., 
Y. M. C. A., K. of C, Salvation Army, War Camp Com- 
munity Service, Overseas Service, Surgical Dressings, Motor 
Corps, Canteen, Hospital Social Service, Home Service, 
Knitting, Nursing Corps. 



i 3 4 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

The stage is now filled with people all facing the center 
of the stage which is left as an aisle four feet wide from the 
front to the back of the stage. At the back are seen Serbia 
and Belgium standing on the platform. On each side of the 
aisle are the flags of the nations. While the war workers 
have been coming to the stage the Attendants of Episode I 
have come onto the stage at the right back, unnoticed, and 
taken their stand in readiness to fall in line behind Serbia 
in the Recessional. The Attendants of Episode VI have at 
the same time come on at the left back ready to fall in line 
behind the Belgians and ahead of the Russians. It will 
be noted that the people of Episodes I and VI have been 
given no place in the Recessional. 



EPISODE IX 

THE RECESSIONAL 

As the last war worker reaches the stage the music 
changes to the Gloria from Haydn's First Mass in Bfc>. 
The Heralds march to the stage and turn ready to lead the 
Recessional. They are joined by the Heralds whose stations 
have been on the stage. The Scouts are still lining the main 
aisle to the east entrance. 

The Heralds leave the stage first, going down the main 
aisle and out the east entrance. They are followed by Serbia, 
Attendants to Episode I, Belgians, Attendants to Episode 
VI, the Russians, France and the French, Britain and the 
British with Japan, Italy and the Romans, Greece and the 
Greeks, America and the Pilgrims, the War Workers. 
These should leave the stage as groups, each group being 
compact together but separated from the other groups by 
about ten feet. As the United States flag leaves the stage 
the audience stands, there is a pause for a moment, then 
without prelude save a single chord, all join in singing 
America. 

My country! 'Tis of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty, 

Of thee I sing; 
Land where my fathers died! 
Land of the Pilgrim's pride! 
From ev'ry mountain side 

Let freedom ring. 

My native country, thee — 
Land of the noble free, 
Thy name I love; 

135 



136 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

I love thy rocks and rills, 
Thy woods and templed hills: 
My heart with rapture thrills, 
Like that above. 

Our father's God! to Thee, 
Author of Liberty, 

To Thee we sing! 
Long may our Land be bright 
With freedom's holy light! 
Protect us by Thy might, 

Great God, our King! 

As the War Workers leave the stage Despair is seen to 
have arisen, thrown back her veil of hair, dropped her 
outer garment of dull gray, and now stands radiant in bril- 
liant purple. The curtain falls on the group of central 
figures, Thanksgiving, Hope, Despair, and the four Attend- 
ants who have stood beside Thanksgiving during the 
pageant, as the last of the War Workers leave the stage, or 
the curtain may remain up until the three stanzas of America 
are finished. The Scouts fall in behind the War Workers, 
those nearest the stage going first and then the others in 
order. The pageant ends with the last words of America. 

MUSIC APPROPRIATE FOR THE PAGEANT 

Prologue Old Hundred 
Episode I. No orchestra 

Episode II. Aida March Verdi 

Episode III. Antony's Victory Gruenwald 

Episode IV. Gloria from First Mass in B[? Haydn 

Episode V. In the Arbor Gruenwald 

Episode VI. Aria in D Barri 

Episode VII. Ein Feste Burg Luther 

Chant du Nord (for Corn Dance) > . . Lange 

Episode VIII. National Anthems of the Nations. 

1. Serbian Hymn. 

2. La Brabanconne (Belgian). 

3. God save our noble Czar (Russian). 

4. La Marseillaise (French). 

5. Rule, Britannia (British). 



A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING 137 

6. Kimagayo (Japanese). 

7. Garibaldi Hymn (Italian). 

8. Greek Hymn. 

9. Star Spangled Banner. 

Episode IX. Gloria from First Mass in Bb Haydn 

America 

As soon as the bugle call has sounded for an episode the 
orchestra begins the appropriate music and continues it until 
the episode is finished and the group is out of the auditorium. 
If lines are spoken, as in Episode VII, the music softens 
down and stops for them. In Episode III the music of the 
episode is suitable for the dance if the rhythm is strongly 
marked. In Episode VII the music for the dance of the 
Indian Maidens is used for the exit of the. group as well as 
for the dance. 

Color Scheme for the Pageant 

If the stage can be draped in a soft gray material that 
hangs in straight, simple folds a most effective background 
will be secured. The stage and auditorium are brilliantly 
lighted throughout the pageant. If a flood light can be 
focused on the group of central figures it will throw them 
into a desirable high relief. 

A satisfactory color scheme for the pageant is as follows. 
The Spirit of Thanksgiving, soft corn color; Hope, soft 
pastel tones of pink, lavender, yellow, green, etc., in vertical 
stripes under a spangled net tabard that comes to the bottom 
of the dress; Despair, brilliant purple with an over garment 
of dull gray that can be slipped off easily; Attendants beside 
Thanksgiving, red purple, orange, lilac, yellow; other At- 
tendants, any soft harmonizing colors based on the colors 
for their episodes; Heralds, white with lilac tabards 
decorated with gold. 

Episode I. Heavy reds, browns, and dull blue. 

Episode II. Yellow through orange to brown. 

Episode III. White, lilac, purple, gold. 

Episode IV. Dull blues, greens, silver. 



138 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

Episode V. Rose pink, red purple, blue lavender, red orange, gold. 
Episode VI, Black, various tones of orange. 
Episode VII. Gray, brown, black. 
Episode VIII. Serbia, bright colors. 

Belgium, purple and lilac. 

Russians, browns, grays, burnt orange. 

France, soft pink. 

Britain, dull pale green. 

Japan, any colors. 

Italy, soft faint lavender. 

Greece, pale yellow. 

America, white or cream. 



Descriptive Programme 

Historic Festival and 
Pageant 

SAVANNAH 



A Hundred Years Ago 



1819 

AND 

1919 



Author and Pageant Master, DR. LINWOOD TAFT 
Musical Director, MISS ESTELLE CUSHMAN 



Presented by The SAVANNAH 
FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION 

Mb. E. S. ROBERTS, President 



MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM 
April 24, 19 19 - Savannah, Ga. 



SAVANNAH FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION 

Officers 

E. S. ROBERTS General Chairman 

NINA A. PAPE First Vice Chairman 

HORTENSE M. ORCUTT. . Second Vice Chairman 

EDITH D. JOHNSTON Secretary 

D. M. MYERS Treasurer 

CLARE VAUGHAN Custodian 



Savannah Historical Pageant 

April 24, 1919 

EPISODES AND DIRECTORS 

Senior High School Drum Corps, J. P. Gardner, Drum 
Major and Acting-President. 

Savannah with Heralds, Buglers, Attendants. Miss 
Sarah Cunningham, Dr. Taft. 

Spirit of the Savannah River with attendant nymphs and 
dryads. Mr. Noble A. Hardee, Miss Katherine Storer. 

The Hundred Years. The Huntingdon Club. Miss 
Sarah Cunningham. 

I. The Founding of Bethesda. Mrs. A. R. Lawton. 

II. Founding of Savannah Female Orphanage. Mrs. 
John L. Cabell. 

III. Ball in honor of President Monroe. Mrs. J. S. 
Wood. State Regent. D. A. R. 

IV. Cast of "The Soldier's Daughter," the play given 
at the opening of the Savannah Theater. Miss S. L. 
Magone. Mrs. Annot B. Downey. 

V. Opening Reception of Chatham Academy. Mrs. 
T. Mayhew Cunningham, Jr., Miss Anna M. Winn. 

^ I. Mr. Goodwin's Dancing School. Pape and Myers 
Schools. Miss Clara Vaughan. 

\ II. Visit of Marquis de Lafayette. Lachlan Mcin- 
tosh Chapter. D. A. R. Mrs. E. P. Noyes, Regent. 

Pageant Committee: Miss Hortense Orcutt, Chairman; 
Miss Jessie Anderson, Mr. Noble A. Hardee, Miss Jane 
Judge. Dr. Linwood Taft, Miss Clara Vaughan. 

The Girl Scouts acting as ushers and attendants. Mrs. 
J. Izlar Oliveros, 

141 



i 4 2 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

MEMBERS OF ORCHESTRA 

Miss Estelle Cushman, Director 

Violins: Concert Master, Ralston Wylly; Miss Grace 
Cushman, Mr. Roscoe Lovell, Lawrence Alnutt, Edwin 
Sickles, David Rogers, Henry Whiteman, Albert Wylly. 

'Celli: Mr. Samuel Lawrence, Kenneth Palmer. 

Flute : Garry Boyle 

Horns: Sylvan Hirsch, Mortimer Hazlehurst. 

Drum : William Dooner. 

Tympani : Neal Banks. 

Pianist: George Ball. 

SPIRIT OF SAVANNAH, SPIRIT OF THE RIVER, 
AND ATTENDANTS 

Spirit of Savannah. — Miss Frances Howard. 

Attendants. — Misses Ellen Johnson, Eleanor Puder, 
Mildred Freeman, Mary New, May Inglesby, Sena 
Jones. 

Heralds. — W. Cosby Carlisle, Stephen A. Wilson. 

Buglers. — Paris S. Atkins, Robert Bissett, Edwin 
Hodgkins, R. S. Pritchard, Jr., Beverly Rockwell, 
Rhanston B. Stillwell. 

Spirit of Savannah River. — Mrs. G. Arthur Gordon. 

Nymphs and Dryads. — Frances Brown, Eleanor Cor- 
ish, Harriet Stewart, Jeannette Strong, Dorsey Bruen, 
Mary Stuart Gordon, Beverly Trosdal, Caroline 
Lovell, Mary Cope, Mary Bond, Margaret Stod- 
dard, Virginia Bourne, Eleanor May, Mary Lane, 
Gertrude Corish, Anne Stapleton, Margaret O'Brien, 
Alicia Baran and Rosalie Hull. 



HISTORICAL FESTIVAL AND PAGEANT 143 

Savannah. — ''Nearly two centuries have passed since 
first Savannah sprang to vivid life ! Savannah ! City by the 
sea! Gift of the river whose name we bear! Years upon 
years of brilliant glowing life have been our portion. From 
many lands and from far distant climes have come great 
men and women to rest within our heart and to do great 
deeds and shape the noble events that have diademmed our 
crown with stars of splendor. No year has passed without 
some wonder left behind as a remembrance. Yet through 
all the sparkling years and honorable renown, one group of 
years shines out, destiny illumined, as the crowning glory of 
an illustrious life. Within the meager confines of a single 
year such high and noble circumstances shaped themselves 
that here we give pause once more, on this anniversary day, to 
review the wonders of a century ago. We shall see brave men 
and devoted women, dedicated to the high service of God 
and of humanity, establish refuges for the desolate; homes 
for the destitute of God's little ones. The Arts contribute 
of their grace and culture; the drama with its pictured life, 
music with its moving cadence, and rhythmic motion with 
the charm and dignity of measured step. The nation's chief 
executive comes to honor the sailing of our namesake-ship. 
Wise and learned men establish halls of education and of 
worship. The gallant Frenchman, renewing his allegiance 
to a once struggling nation, receives from us and from our 
children the warmest welcome in our gift. These only of the 
scores of high and noble deeds of the century may we pic- 
ture ; yet all others should we hold in due remembrance. Go, 
Heralds, to the appointed stations and announce the moving 
of the memories of the past." 

A fanfare of trumpets accompanies the Heralds as they 
conduct Savannah to her dais and then take their stations. 
Savannah remains standing until the flourish of trumpets 
ends and then speaks again : 

"Yet this review must needs give place, for a time, to 
those more elemental influences that underlay our very 



144 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

origin. Ho, Heralds, summon to us here the spirits of the 
great river whose name is ours and from whose bounties we 
do live. Call forth the nymphs of the forests and the fields 
who gave of their carefully guarded treasures that we might 
live and grow." 

The Buglers in attendance upon Savannah sound a call 
which is answered by other Buglers. The Spirit of the 
River accompanied by nymphs and dryads dance in symbol 
of their gifts to the city. 

" And at her feet the silent waters flow 
Oft kissed by zephyrs rare and sunset's glow!" 

Savannah. — "And now, my Heralds, bid those appear 
whose noble lives and deeds of high endeavor we here com- 
memorate." 

Herald. — "Call back the years, the hundred years, that 
round our century of remembrances. Bid them unroll before 
us their measured passing. From out their midst retain with 
us that most memorable decade whose circumstances of un- 
perishing renown we here, to-day, commemorate. Bid them, 
of all the years, stay with us and present to us for approba- 
tion and for reverence those very circumstances imperish- 
able, knit into the fabric of our being, that are our pride and 
our glory." 

A bugle call is sounded. Other bugles respond, and 
1919 leads on the hundred years. As they pass the last ten 
detach themselves from the line and move to their places, 
five on each side of Savannah, where they remain until the 
years are again rolled forward at the end of the pageant. 



EPISODE I 
THE FOUNDING OF BETHESDA 

Herald. — "We shall now see, Savannah, how dedica- 
tion to the service of God and of humanity brought to the 
forlorn and needy of thy children the care and love of those 
whose hearts beat strongly for the desolate and the 
oppressed. A home for boys, early established and faith- 
fully maintained, is here depicted." 

As before, bugles announce the approach of the Bethesda 
group. In this same manner all the following episodes are 
heralded. 

The Bethesda Pageant represents an imaginary visit of 
Lady Huntingdon, the Patroness of this Orphanage. She 
is accompanied by George Whitefield and John Wesley; the 
former her adviser and friend in this work, and the latter a 
co-worker with Whitefield. In her train are James Haber- 
sham, the first instructor at Bethesda, and seven boys, his 
first pupils; General James Oglethorpe and his great friend, 
the Indian Chief Tomochichi, with six of his Indian follow- 
ers ; also eight ladies and gentlemen of the Court of George 
II. These characters are announced with due solemnity by 
a Beadle. The pupils present Lady Huntingdon with flowers 
grown upon this estate, her gracious gift to the colony — and 
then sing for her entertainment two verses of "Love Divine, 
All Love Excelling," written by Charles Wesley. 

The Beadle Mr. Julian Schley 

Lady Huntingdon Mrs. A. L. Alexander 

George Whitefield Mr. Richard Adams 

James Habersham Mr. Alexander R. Lawton, Jr. 

145 



146 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

General James Oglethorpe Mr. Frederick Penniman 

Tomichichi Mr. James C. Branan 

John Wesley W. W. Douglas 

Group of Bethesda Boys 

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE COURT OF GEORGE II 

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander R. MacDonell Miss Eliza Schley 

Mr. and Mrs. I. A. Sims Mr. Alan MacDonell 

Miss Sarah Bacon Mr. A. R. Lawton 
Mrs. Ford Fuller 

First Pupils 
Wm. T. Boseman Oscar Sims 

Harry Beaseley Franklin Sims 

Lancy Fripp William Opper 

Walter Beck 



EPISODE II 

FOUNDING OF SAVANNAH FEMALE ORPHANAGE 

Herald. — "Not boys only, but girls also were found 
among thy needy ones. Nor were there lacking noble women 
who, putting aside personal gain and pleasures, built up within 
thy borders a home wherein such girls might grow in 
knowledge and in grace as well as stature. The founding 
of the Female Orphanage we now commemorate" 

This episode represents a meeting of the Board of the 
Savannah Female Orphan Asylum, depicting the manage- 
ment and life in that institution in 1819. 

President of the Board, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith. 

Represented by Mrs. John Heard Hunter 

Secretary, Mrs. Margaret Hunter. 

Represented by Mrs. J. A. G. Carson 

Treasurer, Mrs. Sarah Lamb Represented by Mrs. Max Wolff 

Mrs. Holcombe Represented by Mrs. John S. Howkins 

Mrs. Ann Clay Represented by Mrs. F. C. Battey 

Mrs. Jane Smith Represented by Mrs. R. M. Aldrich 

Lady Ann Houston 

Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. J. F. C. Myers 

Mrs. Hannah McAllister Represented by Mrs. Gordon Saussy 

Mrs. Sarah Jenkins Represented by Mrs. H. Wiley Johnson 

Mrs. Ann Moore Represented by Mrs. Gordon Groover 

Mrs. Rebecca Newell Represented by Miss Hesse 

Mrs. Mary Wall Represented by Mrs. Alex Thesmar 

Matron of the Asylum, Mrs. Lydia Myers. 

Represented by Mrs. George Cope 
Children of the Asylum of 1819. 

Represented by Children of the Savannah Female Orphan Asylum 

147 



EPISODE III 

BALL IN HONOR OF PRESIDENT MONROE, MAY, 1819 

Herald. — "The nation's Chief Executive, President 
Monroe, honors thee, Savannah, in coming to witness the 
sailing of thy namesake-ship, the first such ship in all the 
history of the world to brave the dangers of the sea. The 
high and noble of thy sons and daughters receive their Presi- 
dent and make merry for his pleasure.'*, 

James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, 
and the second to visit Savannah, was received in the city on 
Saturday, the eighth of May, 18 19, with every demonstra- 
tion of delight to honor the Chief Executive. 

Most prominent of the entertainments given in the Presi- 
dent's honor was a ball, in a building prepared for the 
occasion in Johnson Square. This act depicts that historic 
ball, and shows the guests being presented to the President, 
by the Honorable William Scarborough, a merchant prince 
of Savannah, to whom the city owed much of its advance- 
ment, and at whose home the President stayed while in 
Savannah. A feature of the ball will be a song, sung by 
"Mrs. Kollock" (Mrs. Gordon Harrison). 

Many notable people from Savannah and the surround- 
ing counties attended the ball. Among them were the fol- 
lowing: 

President Monroe Represented by Dr. Francis Turner 

The Hon. William Scarborough. 

Represented by his great-great-nephew, John Stark 

The Hon. James M. Wayne, Mayor of the City. 

Represented by his descendant, Wayne Cunningham 
148 



HISTORICAL FESTIVAL AND PAGEANT 149 

Gen. Francis Huger 

Represented by his great-grandson, Lieut. Percy Huger 

Francis Harris Macleod 

Represented by his grandson, Harris Macleod King 

Gen. Floyd Represented by his descendant, Marmaduke Floyd 

Gen. Gaines Represented by Frederick Walter 

Hon. William Bulloch (Vice-President of the day). 

Represented by I. A. Sims 

Mrs. William Bulloch Represented by Mrs. I. A. Sims 

The Hon. W. R. Waring (alderman). 

Represented by his descendant, Dr. T. Pinchney Waring 

Martha Brailsford. 

Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. T. P. Waring 

Margaret Moore Lawson. 

Represented by her granddaughter, Mrs. James S. Wood 

Mrs. Richard D. Arnold. 

Represented by her granddaughter, Miss Margaret Cosens 

Alexander Telfair Represented by Joseph Inglesby, Jr. 

Mrs. Alexander Telfair Represented by Mrs. Joseph Inglesby, Jr. 

Miss Mary Telfair Represented by Mrs. Feay Shellman 

Thomas Heyward . . . Represented by his descendant, Heyward Howkins 

Mrs. Thomas Heyward Represented by Mrs. Heyward Howkins 

Lady Ann Houstoun. 

Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Miss Eugenia Johnston 

Col. James Johnston. 

Represented by his great-grandson, James Houston Johnston of 
Atlanta, Ga. 

Mrs. James Johnston. 

Represented by her great-granddaughter, Miss Edith Johnston 

The Hon. Soloman Cohen. 

Represented by his great-grandson, William Henry Battey 

Dr. Louis Turner .... Represented by his grandson, Dr. Newell Turner 

George Barnard Represented by his descendant, Tattnall Pritchard 



ISO THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

Mrs. George Barnard Represented by Mrs. Tattnall Pritchard 

Mrs. Maria Campbell Kollock (wife of Dr. Lemuel Kollock). 

Represented by her great-granddaughter, Mrs. Gordon Harrison 

W. W. Gordon. . . Represented by his great-grandson, W. W. Gordon, Jr. 

Georgia Bryan. 

Represented by her great-granddaughter, Miss Daisy Gordon 

Andrew J. Miller of Augusta, Ga. 

Represented by his great-grandson, Frank LeHardy 

Mrs. Jared Irwin (Isabella Erwin). 

Represented by her great-great-great-niece, Miss Ruth Huston, of 
Coatesville, Penn. 

Jane Irwin, daughter of Gov. Jared Irwin. 

Represented by his great-great-niece, Mrs. Charles Albert Chapman 

Joseph Habersham. 

Represented by his great-great-grandson, Welborn Colquitt 

Mrs. Joseph Habersham. 

Represented by her great-great-great-niece, Miss Josephine Clark 

Isaac Minis Represented by his grandson, Abram Minis 

Mrs. Francis Hendricks of New Jersey (The Hendricks Copper Mills 
furnished the copper used in the Steamship Savannah). 

Represented by her great-granddaughter, Mrs. Abram Minis 

Captain Moses Rogers, who commanded the Steamship "City of 
Savannah." 

Represented by his descendant, Mr. Ernest Rogers of New London, 
Conn. 

Mrs. Moses Rogers Represented by Mrs. Ernest Rogers 

Children of the day — represented by; 

The Children of the Kate Baldwin Free Kindergartens. 

The Children of the Savannah Kindergarten. 

The Children of the Kindergarten of the Council of Jewish Women. 

The Children of the Bishop Beckwith Kindergarten. 



EPISODE IV 

OPENING OF SAVANNAH THEATER 

Herald. — "A home for mimic art, established early, 
gave pleasant entertainment for thy leisure. These now, 
who come, do so in the persons of those whose art depicted 
life when the theater was first opened and inscribed with thy 
name." 

"The Soldier's Daughter," a patriotic play, was written 
by Andrew Cherry, an actor of some repute of the London 
stage. The play was first produced in London, when 
England was ablaze with patriotism, due to the apprehen- 
sion of a Napoleonic invasion. The play was given in 
Savannah at-the opening of the Savannah Theater, Decem- 
ber 4, 18 18. 

CAST OF CHARACTERS 

Gov. Heartall Harold Belford 

Frank Heartall Robert Knox 

Malfort, Sr Allen Woodruff 

Malfort, Jr Jack Crowther 

Captain Woodley Hugh Saussy 

Ferret , Andrew Caraker 

Tim Quaint Ambrose Solomon 

Simon Emanuel Lewis 

The Widow Cheerly Nan O'Connor 

Mrs. Malfort Louise Strickland 

Susan Reba DuBois 

Mrs. Townley Irvina Morris 

151 



EPISODE V 

OPENING RECEPTION, CHATHAM ACADEMY, 1813 

Herald. — "That there might be no lack of learned and 
godly men and women in thy service, halls of education and 
of worship were founded. Chatham Academy is here before 
us shown as in its first days of service, opened with the dig- 
nity and courtliness befitting such an enterprise" 

The Republican and Savannah Evening Ledger of 
December 12, 181 2, contained a notice signed by John 
Bolton, R. M. Stites, and John Lawson, one paragraph of 
which reads : "The undersigned committee of the trustees of 
the Chatham Academy are happy to announce to their fellow 
citizens and the public that the academy will be opened in 
the elegant and convenient edifice, lately erected in this city, 
for the reception of pupils in the various branches of litera- 
ture proposed to be taught in the institution, on the first 
Monday in January next." 

The Republican and Savannah Evening Ledger made an 
announcement on Friday, January 1, 18 13, of this invitation: 

"The ladies and citizens of Savannah in general are 
respectfully invited to attend at the academy on Tuesday, the 
fifth of January next, at twelve o'clock, at which time the 
building will be opened for the reception of scholars, and an 
appropriate address will be delivered on the occasion." 

William Stephens, president of the board of trustees 
(Mr. T. M. Cunningham, president of the Board of Educa- 
tion). 

152 



HISTORICAL FESTIVAL AND PAGEANT 153 

John Bolton, R. M. Stites, John Lawson, committee of 
trustees (Col. G. Arthur Gordon, Mr. William F. McCau- 
ley, members of the present board of trustees of Chatham 
Academy), Mr. John Cabell, Mr. F. T. Saussy. 

Address by Rev. Henry Kollock, D. D., pastor of the 
Independent Presbyterian Church (Mr. M. C. Kollock, 
grand-nephew of Rev. Henry Kollock). Extracts from 
original address, arranged by Mr. Otis Ashmore. 

Mr. J. D. Fyler, first principal of Chatham Academy 
(Mr. G. J. Orr, principal of Massie and Barnard Street 
Schools). The trustees announce that he is "a gentleman 
highly recommended, and well known as possessing every 
qualification for that office, not only in extensive erudition, 
but in experience as a skillful instructor." 



PUPILS OF CHATHAM ACADEMY GLEE CLUB 

Angela Altick Florrie Thompson 

May Bracey Margaret Walker 

Winifred Brooks Elizabeth Wells 

Agnes Collins Louise Winn 

Fannie Clark Robert Bissett 

Margaret Coulling Lawrence Bissett 

Catherine Coyle Jack Craig 

Mary Crosby Harry Friedman 

Esther Dich William Eyler 

Nellie Folger George Granberry 

Romana Gallaway Mortimer Hazlehurst 

Ruth Harrell Kenneth Leauty 

Alice Hillis Joe Levington 

Louise Hooper Fred Long 

Loretto Heagarty Walter Maxwell 

Gracie Lanneau Sam Newton 

Fannie Belle Outler Roddy Pritchard 

Nan O'Connor William Reckling 

Anna Palmer Frank Slater 

Edwina Pritchard Jack White 

Etta May Rimes Allen Woodruff 
Cornelia Sudderth 



154 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 



OTHER PUPILS 



Eva Alpert 
Mary Barnes 
Bertha Bradley 
Annie Baxley 
Jessie Cary 
Leola Clark 
Catherine Cubbedge 
Leila Cubbedge 
Philippa Delph 
Gladys Dawson 
Julia Broderick 
Joyce Edwards 
Rita Eisenberg 
Fanny Estroff 
Ida Friedman 
Mary Horrigan 
Lottie Jackson 
Hannah Foss 
Dorothy Porter 
Marian Pinkussohn 
Margaret Lane 
Helen McCarthy 
Belle Morecock 
Camille Leacy 
Myra Palmer 
Anna Pritchard 
Justine Savarese 
Sara Schwab 



Helen Sinclair 
Nadine Solteric 
Catherine Stafford 
Mamie Smith 
Anna Starrs 
Gertrude Schwalb 
Katherine Smith 
Helen Smith 
Alice Tunno 
Leila Waite 
Katherine White 
Leola White 
Louise Whitehurst 
Pauline Wills 
John Bridger 
Samuel Cohen 
Osgood Bridger 
James Dotson 
Cooper Morcock 
William Turner 
Herbert Matthews 
William Sheehan 
Edwin Hodgkins 
William Stubbs 
Walker Saussy 
Herbert Hutton 
William Taliaferro 
Charles Wiehrs 



SPECTATORS AND PATRONS 



Miss Katherine Davis 

Miss Mary DeBardeleben 

Miss Anne D. Jones 

Mr. and Mrs. T. A. F. Williams 

Mr. H. L. Weatherby 



Miss Eloise Varnedoe 
Mr. and Mrs. Ira Gaines 
Mrs. Z. D. Wheat 
Mrs. M. G. Blanton 
Mrs. A. T. Lemon 



EPISODE VI 

MR. GOODWIN'S DANCING SCHOOL 

Herald. — "Thy people, O Savannah, loving life in all 
its aspects, made prompt provision for gay hours of pleasure. 
A dancing master now presents before us the stately minuet, 
with other graceful measures of the time/* 

Mr. Goodwin, "who for ten years had the honor of 
being patronized by all the principal families in Savannah, 
gives proof of his remaining abilities in the steps of grace, 
as illustrated by his pupils in the minuet and a dance called 
'Independence, or The Stars.' " 

Mr. Goodwin Mr. Alan MacDonell 



PUPILS 



Alicia Young 

Lois Luther 

Elizabeth Thesmar 

Helen Wright 

Edward Lovell 

Beach Edwards 

Aubrey Abbott 

Herman Kulman 

Edith Hunter 

Annie Mcintosh 

Ann Lawrence 

Jean Beckett 

Mary Waring 

Nina Hammond 

Fannie Blun 

Daniel Baldwin Alexander 



Caroline Johnson 
Mary Alstaetter 
Mary Fantl 
Jack Stoddard 
Remer Lane 
Storm Trosdal 
Kurt Nanninga 
Winthrop Dwelle 
Pope Barrow 
Callie Wilkinson 
James W. Mclntire 
Mary Leffler 
Margaret Kayton 
Virginia Norton 
Margaret Elton 
Olin Mcintosh, Jr. 



155 



EPISODE VII 
RECEPTION OF GENERAL LAFAYETTE 

Herald. — "Lafayette, first European friend of young 
America! Received with our most cordial welcome at the 
renewal of his, and our, allegiance. Here is shown the pride 
and pomp of his reception when, in revisiting the nation 
whose integrity he helped to save, he honored us with his 
presence." 

General Lafayette, returning to America nearly fifty 
years after his first arrival in this country, "to plunge with 
youthful ardor into the American struggle for independ- 
ence," visited Savannah on March 19, 1825. He attended 
the laying of the cornerstones of the Greene and Pulaski 
monuments. 

This episode is a review of the festivities arranged in 
honor of General Lafayette during his visit. The words of 
the song were written for the occasion by George Robertson, 
Jr., and sung at the dinner. In the pageant General Lafay- 
ette is received by notable people of Savannah at that time, 
and a flag made in his honor is presented to him. The 
original of this flag was borne on a flagstaff at the bow of 
the Altamaha as that vessel carried General Lafayette from 
Savannah to Augusta. 

Among the notables who took part in the ceremonies were : 

Lafayette Represented by Mr. Raiford Falligant 

Gen. Murat Represented by Mr. Tattnall Pritchard 

Gen. Francis Huger Represented by Lieut. Percy Huger 

Gen. Tattnall Represented by Mr. Richard Adams 

Commodore John Herbert Dent, U. S. N. 

Represented by his great-grandson, Gratz Dent 
156 



HISTORICAL FESTIVAL AND PAGEANT 157 

President of St. Andrews Society. 

Represented by Mr. Olin Mcintosh, great-great-grandnephew of 
Gen. Lachlan Mcintosh, founder of St. Andrew's Society in 1790. 

Gen. John Floyd Represented by Mr. Marmaduke Floyd 

Gen. Charles Floyd Represented by Mr. Hazlehurst Noyes 

(As a West Point Lieutenant in command of a company of Marines 
sent to receive Lafayette when he arrived in New York.) 

Gen. Stewart . . Represented by his great-great-grandson, John Stevens 

Alderman John Shellman. 

Represented by his great-great-grandson, W. F. Shellman 

Isaac Minis Represented by Mr. Abram Minis 

August Oemler Represented by Mr. Heyward Oemler 

(He designed the miniatures placed in the corner stones of the Green 
and Pulaski monuments.) 

Dr. George Mosse. 

Represented by his great-grandson, Dr. Walter Norton 

Col. Nowlan. .Represented by his descendant, Mr. Eugene MacDonell 
(Col. of the 35th Ga. Reg. of Savannah in 1812.) 

Lieut. Schley. 

Represented by his great-great-grandson, Lieut. Larcombe Schley 

Mrs. Martha Brailsford. 

Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. T. P. Waring 

Mrs. John Peter Martin. 

Represented by her descendant, Mrs. Walter S. Wilson 
(Captain John Peter Martin was with Pinckney in the disastrous 
assault on Savannah in October, 1779.) 

Mrs. Sheftall. 

Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. Elliott Reed 

Mrs. Thomas Pilkington Purse. 

Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Miss Wilhelmina Purse 

Mrs. John Floyd. 

Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Miss Ruth Foster 

Mrs. Mary Floyd Hamilton. 

Represented by her descendant, Miss Nell Noyes 

Madame de Sableaux (wife of Louis Philippe de Sableaux, who came to 
this country with Lafayette). 

Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Miss Janey Davant 



158 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 



Miss Lavinia Christian (who was crowned queen of the carnival by- 
Lafayette at West Point, Va.) 

Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. J. R. Marshall 

Isabella Steele. 

Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. Hoyt W. Gale 
of Cleveland, O. 

The youth of the city gathered with their elders in 
Johnson square to welcome Lafayette. 



Mary Teasdale 
Julia Frances Floyd 
Ruth Foster McCaskill 
Hal Noyes 
Olaf Otto, Jr. 
Margaret Ellen Lester 
Elizabeth Inglesby 
Gussie Clay 
Hilda Allen 
Lizzie Gray Davis 
Martha Gaillard 
Benjamin Palmer Axson 
Nell Furlow Axson 
John A. Foster, Jr. 
Camille Nicolas 
Elizabeth Chapeau 
Philip Minis 
Eugene Edwards 
Sallie Thesmar 
Sophie Thesmar 
Andrew Edwards 
Lucile Gorin 
Helen Walthour 
Jean Labouchere 
Virginia Walthour 
Dudley Sweat 
Helen Sweat 
Dorothy Bonney 
Gladys Henderson 
Marmaduke Floyd, Jr. 
Eugenia Granger 
Virginia Powell 



Elinor Brown 

Woody DuBose 

Fannie Patrick 

Elizabeth Stephens 

Elizabeth Foster 

Jane Tharin 

Floyd Foster 

Marjorie Thomas 

Charlotte Lanneau 

Rosalie Foster 

Mary Pritchard 

Elizabeth Foster Beggs 

Georgie Foster 

Alice Backus 

Alice Waring 

Helen Heyward 

Majorie Vandivere 

Frances Floyd 

Ida Floyd 

Lee Russell 

Eulalie McLeod 

Ina McLeod 

Cora Howard Thomson 

Charlotte McDowell 

Jeanette Martin 

Mary Waring 

Agnes Morris 

Catherine Tew 

Mrs. J. Lawton Wightman 

Mrs. Edward Frost 

Mrs. Crafts 



Mammies of Long Ago 

Impersonated by Mrs. E. Thomas, Mrs. J. B. Cherry 



PROCESSION OF THE YEARS 

1819-1919 

Herald. — "Such noble gifts, Savannah, conferred upon 
thee by these years of early endeavor, are not to be equaled 
— not by any decade passing since., What yet may be is not 
for mortal knowing. Yet each decade, in passing, has left 
with thee worthy deeds of great consequence. These now, 
in swift procession moving, come to remind us of their gifts 
to thee" 

The ten years of the first decade of the century come 
down from the dais and, recalling the next decade, pass off 
the stage. Each decade passes thus in turn, presenting to 
Savannah the memorial of their contribution to the life of 
the city. The last decade consists of nine figures in red, 
representing strife and war, and one figure in white, repre- 
senting the peace to come. All depart except 19 19, who 
presents a scroll to Savannah. 

1819-29 

During this Decade the Episodes of the Pageant Took Place 

Mrs. Isaac Minis, Mrs. H. B. Skeele, Mrs. Francis 
Muir, Mrs. Pritchard, Mrs. J. A. Moore, Mrs. J. J. 
Powers, Mrs. Iola Bishop, Mrs. A. V. Chaplin, Miss Nora 
Edmonston, and Mrs. E. W. Cubbedge, Jr. 

1829-39 

First Railroad Started in this Period 

In April, 1836, a company was formed and preparations 
were made for the beginning of the Central of Georgia R. R. 

159 



160 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

Mrs. G. H. Bass, the Misses Alberta Grayson, Hazel 
Robinson, Era Cook, Josephine Glaimas, Hilda Allen, Mrs. 
Bula Bentschner, Marie Solomon, Ethel Allen, Elizabeth 
Perkins. 

1849-59 

Beginning of Public School System 

In April, 1 84 1, the will of Peter Massie gave to the city 
a sum of money to be used for the education of the poor 
children of the city. 

Mrs. Wayne Cunningham, Mrs. Fred Saussy, Mrs. 
Julian Chisholm, Mrs. Franz Behnes, Mrs. David Schwartz, 
Mrs. Jabez Jones, Mrs. J. D. Maxwell, Mrs. L. B. Taylor, 
Mrs. Edward Demere, Miss Martha Sasnett. 

1949-59 

First Park Founded 

In 1 85 1, through the suggestion of Mr. Wm. Hodgson, 
the first park was laid out as a place of recreation for the 
people. It was given the name of Mr. John Forsyth, of 
Georgia, then Minister to Spain. 

Misses Alice Battey, Edith Battey, Mrs. George Hunter, 
Mrs. Harvey Gilbert, Mrs. Ambrose Gordon, Mrs. Edwin 
Cubbedge, Mrs. L. H. Dimmitt, Mrs. Byron Glover, Mrs. 
S. R. Dighton, Mrs. Valmore Lebey. 

1859-69 

Civil War Period 

During much of this time the entire city was enlisted in 
the cause of the Confederacy. 

Mrs. Wm. B. McNeil, the Misses Ellen Morgan, Lila 
Cabaniss, Bessie Garden, Hazelle Beard, Walton Parker, 
Mrs. I. W. McDowell, Mrs. John Dyer, Miss Julia Bourne, 
Miss Henrietta Cohen. 



HISTORICAL FESTIVAL AND PAGEANT 161 

1869-79 

First Art Gallery Started 

In June, 1875, Miss Mary Telfair died, leaving to the 
city her residence as an Academy of Arts and Sciences and a 
fund for its maintenance. 

Mrs. A. R. Lawton, Jr., Mrs. Thos. Hilton, Mrs. T. C. 
Myers, Mrs. H. P. Smart, Mrs. J. K. Train, Mrs. S. F. 
Marshall, Mrs. Craig Cranston, Mrs. R. L. Denmark, 
Misses Mildred Cunningham, Fanny Philips. 

1879-89 

Naval Stores Started 

During this decade this industry grew from almost 
nothing to such proportions that Savannah became the 
leading market for naval stores in the world. 

Mrs. Harry Bruen, Miss Mary Davis, Mrs. Carl Espy, 
Mrs. James Furse, Mrs. Olin Mcintosh, Mrs. Walter Nor- 
ton, Mrs. Gordon Findlay, Misses Agnes Jones, Ruth 
Rankin, Annie Lynah. 

1889-99 

Spanish-American War Period 

It was during this decade that the Spanish-American 
War occurred, and Savannah had a large number of troops 
encamped here. 

Misses Elizabeth Jenkins, Ellen Postell, Louise Butter- 
field, Mary Harper, Julia Gordon, Florence Crane, Helena 
Cunningham, Isabelle Harrison, Suzanne Bell, Cabell Mar- 
shall. 



i6 2 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 

1899-1909 
Growth of Industry 

During this period the city made great strides in its 
industrial and financial growth. 

Misses Katherine Willink, Ruth Kayton, Virginia Heard, 
Mary Lattimore, Isabelle Dwelle, Sarah Neville, Frances 
Jones, Emily Cope, Eleanor Alexander, Lucy Armstrong. 

1909-19 

World War 

The most important event of this decade was the Great 
War — brought to a close by the present year. 

Misses Lilla Train, Caroline Jones, Harriet Aldrich, 
Mary Wilder, Joan Rauers, Catherine Rauers, Frieda 
Cunningham, Leona Simkins, Margaret Simkins. 

1919 

Miss Elizabeth Pettus. 

At a fanfare of trumpets the buglers and heralds return 
and escort Savannah, who reads from the scroll presented by 
1 9 19, as she moves forward from the dais. She is preceded 
by 1 9 19, and speaks for the young year: 

"Young and mute, uncertain yet of what the future has in 
store, this present year, in all sincerity and all humility, 
comes as the symbol of a new era of peace from out the 
red years of war's desolation. This present year, with 
unlimited possibilities for worthy deeds, gives to us the 
opportunity to rival those noble deeds here to-day recalled 
and revivified. Shall we not, with such evidence of human 
achievement and human devotion behind us, pledge to this 
year and to all the future the most generous service, to 
Savannah, to America, to the World!" 

The bugles sound a last call as the pageant ends. 



One Form' of Program 



Patriotic Pageant 



The Erqgress of Liberty 

CAPITOL PLAZA 

JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI 

Wednesday, June ig, 8:15 p.m. 
Thursday, June 20, 8:15 p.m. 

Given under the auspices of the 

Woman's Committee, Missouri Division, Council of National Defense, 

and Cole County Unit of the Committee. 

Mrs. Houck McHenry, Chairman 

Pageant Chairman Mrs. Chester A. Piatt 

Dances Miss Rayma Irwin 

Books and Tickets Mr. Charles Winston 

Grounds and Seating Mr. William Painter 

Lighting Mr. Ray Palmblade 

Mr. Graham 

Director Linwood Taft 

Costumer Mrs. F. W. Flower 



Piano Estelle Dircks 

Mrs. John Jobe 

1st Violins Dorothy Miller 

Louis Burkel 

2nd Violins Rosalind Heisler 

Jane Enloe 

Viola H. C. Sattler 



ORCHESTRA 



Clarinet Dr. E. T. Tanner 

Cornet Oscar Muck 

Trombone Theo. Haar 

Saxophone Claude Bartlett 

Drums Theo. Haar, Jr. 



EPISODE I 

The Rule of Tyranny and Force 

Director, Mrs. Chester Piatt 

Reapers Mrs. Gertrude Nelson Poet Mr. Donald Mosby 

Miss Margaret Heisler 

Miss Rose Brown Seer Rev. George L. Barnes 

Miss Katherine Hope 

Miss Margaret Zeitz Princess Miss Mar j. Schmiehausen 

Miss Mildred Hammond 

Miss Margaret Bramlet Watchmen Mr. James Walsh, Jr. 

Miss Margaret Tucker Mr. William Busby 

Mr. Walter Hampton 

Mr. Henry Asel Liberty Mrs. S. B. Cook 

Mr. Ralph Hammond 

Mr. Robert Nelson Angels of Peace Miss Adalyn Faris 

Mr. Guy Sone Miss Mildred Berry 

Mr. Buster Miss Marie Ellis 

Alberta Coleman 

Louise Kerr Trumpeters Mr. George Player, Jr. 

Mr. Andrew Seward 
Standard Bearer .... Mr. Theodore Schott 

Soldiers Mr. Earl Ruthven 

King Mr. T. J. Walker Mr. Joe Wheeler 

Mr. Carl Bos™ 

Priests Mr. Will Hoefer Mr. M. D. Harbaugh 

Mr. Chas. Tweedie Mr. Lincoln Mintick 

Mr. Harry Hodgman 

163 



episode n 



The Struggle of the Greeks Against the Persians 



Director, Miss Daisy Seaber 
Hellas Miss Mary Louise Bowles Greek Women. 

Persian Ambassadors^. J. L. Wagner 
Mr. John Harris 

Archons Mr. Davis 

Mr. Leo Holtschneidor 

Greer Soldiers. 



Joe Walsh 
Henry Bedsworth 
William Wiley 
Winfred Peasner 
Joseph Bedsworth 
Richard Ope 1 
Paul Bosch 
Calvin Speedy 
Harry Edwards 
Nelson Brandhorst 

Marathon Runner. . . Herndon Painter 



Spartan Maidens. 



. Mrs. Joseph Kolkmeyer 
Mrs. Davis 
Miss Nadine Baker 
Miss Pearl Peasner 
Miss Irene Strong 
Miss Lydia Ann Fischer 
Miss Clara Beck 
Miss Helen Ruthven 
Miss Grace Steppleman 
Miss Ivy Seaber 
Mrs. David Enloe 
Mrs. Davis 



.Miss Helen Clark 
Miss Anna Cullen 
Miss Mary Virginia Mosby 
Miss Beatrice Beasmore 
Miss Gladys Henry 
Miss Searle Faris 



episode m 



The Gifts of the Romans to Keep Rome Free 

Director, Mrs. Frank P. Sexton 
Quaestors Mr. Thomas Fischer Peasants 



Lictors. 



Senators. 



Slaves 

Roman Girls . 



. Mr. Thomas Fischer 
Dr. Ralph Graham 

.Mr. Tom Cole 
Mr. Paul Schmidt 
Mr. Elsey Edwards 
Mr. Bruns 

.Dr. George Haigh 

Judge Fred Williams 

Rev. McDonald 

Mr. Ed Austin 
. Miss Gladys Freeman 

Miss Helen Barth 

Miss Olive Pash 
.Miss Elizabeth Overall 

Miss Eugenia Roach 



Roman Matrons . 



. Mr. James Blair 
Mr.Meredith Williams 
Mr. Sam Bob Graves 

.Mrs. E.J. Bean 
Mrs. J. C. Russell 
Mrs. D. M. Oberman 
Mrs. Wm. Busby 
Mrs. Renn Dallmeyer 
Miss Alice Barrett 



Matron Mrs. J. C. Johnson 



Sons. 



Herald. 



. Julius Meyerhardt 
Frank Russell 
.B. M. Seward 



EPISODE IV 



A Legend of Swiss Hatred of Tyranny 



Director, Mrs. John Harris 



Tyrant 


Mr. Irl T.Oliver Bridesmaids 


Man-at-Arms 


. . . . Dr. Albert Hammen 


Soldiers 


Mr. Rogers Smith 




Mr. Joe Norman 


Bridegroom 


. . . . Mr. Modeer 


Mountaineers. .. 


.... Henry LePage 




Mr. Al Weingartner 




Mr. William Holmes 


Peasants 


. . . . Russell Kirkpatrick Mountain Spirits 
Mr. B. Ray Franklin 






Mr. Freeman 




Mr. Jaqua 




Mr. Fred Jens 




Mr. Robert Nolan 


Swiss Women .... 


Mrs. J. R. Nolan 




Mrs. Mabel Hutton 




Mrs. Gus Scbell 




Mrs. C. C Wildman ] 




Miss Stella Heldman ] 




Miss Louise Rose 


Brtde 


Miss Gladys Cook 


Children 


... Mary Elizabeth McClung 




Billie Sue Irwin 




Sallie Elizabeth Castleman 




Mary Elizabeth Nolan 




Cortez Enloe, Jr. 



Miss Selma Brewer 
Miss Pauline Richardson 
Miss Vivian Moore 
Miss Feme Pare 
Miss Helen Derkum 
Miss Edith Hines 
Miss Margaret Scherer 
Mrs. Jaqua 
Marcella Busch 
Mary Carson 
Jewel Ott 

Henrietta Hagerman 
Pauline Linxweiler 
Dorothy Davis 
Nellie Chapman 
Bernice Senevey 
Josephine Murray 
Lucy Eichert 
Ruth Birchenbach 
Margaret Harris 
Mary Armstrong 
Beatrice Temmen 
Venita Tanner 
Ella Mae Hott 



164 



EPISODE V 

Joan of Arc 

Director, Mrs. James Walsh 

Joan of Arc Mrs. S. E. Skelly Ladies of the Court 

St. Catherine Mrs. Cortez Enloe 

France Mrs. Paul Hunt 

Peasant Maids Miss Ruth Laudman 

Miss Katharine Sinclair 

Miss Effie Ottman 

Miss Katharine Moerschel 

Miss Madge Waddill Courtiers 

Burgundian Monk. . .Mr. Nelson 



Sinister Figures Jean Enloe 

Margaret Blair 
Katherine Kolkmeyer 
Marjorie Gray 
Eleanor Kersting 
Mary Elizabeth Baker 

Dauphin Mr. Philip Ottman 

Dauphiness Miss Frances Mosby 



Mrs. John Weber 
Mrs. A. Linxweiler 
Mrs. T. G. Burkhardt 
Mrs. Charles Gruber 
Mrs. L. B. Landman 
Mrs. Kate Bolton 
Mrs. Ed Ruwart 
Miss Nell Green 
Miss Clara Kesweter 

Mr. Larry Powers 
Mr. Edson Burch 
Mr. Howard Payne 
Mr. John Dodge 
Mr. S. E. Skelley 



Pages John Keiley 

Wendel Manchester 

Paladin Mr. Gordon Darby 

Squire Clibourne Schulte 



EPISODE VI 



Signing of the Magna Charta 

Commercial Club: Director, Mr. L. B. Landaman 



Barons and Earls . 



. Mr. Sam Haley 
Mr. Henry Guhleman 
Mr. James O'Connor 
Mr. H. J. Westhues 
Mr. H. S. Miller 
Mr. William Ruwart 
Mr. George Young 

Standard Bearer John Henry 

King John Mr. W. C. Irwin 



Pages Russell Chapman 

Harry Elliot 

Archbishops Mr. Henry Feindt 

Mr. Ed Favier 

Priests Ed. J. P. Vilm 

Jeff Keane 

Knights Rev. A. Y. Beattie 

Mr. William Hager 
Mr. R. J. Morissey 



Baron 



.Mr.O. C.Stegmeyer 



EPISODE VII 



America Honoring Washington and Lafayette 

D. A. R.; Director, Mrs. William Painter 



George Washington . Mr. T. L. Price 

Lafayette Mr. H. P. Ragland 

Soldiers Mr. H. B. Hunt 

Mr. C. P. LeMire 

Flower Girls Rachel Parker 

Louisa Stephens 
Madeline Harrup 
PhyUis Clay _ 
Susanne Davison 
Evelyn Manchester 

Frontiersmen Mr. L. S. Parker 

Mr. Oliver Bassman 
Mr. W. A. Norman 
Capt. Porter Gilvin 

Indians Mr. Kemp Asel 

Mr. Carl Antenweith 



Colonial Ladies 



Mrs. W. W. Graves . 
Mrs. T. O. Towles '■ 
Mrs. Caddie Albritain 
Mrs. Hugh Stephens 
Mrs. Zach Patterson 
Mrs. Ashley Ewing 



Colonial Ladies Mrs. J. H. Cutten 
Miss Juliet Price 
Miss Evelyn Rainer 
Miss Patty Hendy 
Miss Ethel Owens 
Miss Mary Church 
Miss Katrine Dallmeyer 
Miss Tess Walton 
Miss Mary Tull 
Miss Margaret Moore 

COLONIAL Men Rev. Lawrence Proctor 

Mr. C. B. Bee 
Mr. E. R. Barnthouse 
Mr. Houck McHenry 
Mr. Ray Miller 
Mr. Douglas Dodson 
Mr. Wm. Colburn 
Mr. Howard Boone 
Mr. Gene McCowan 
Mr. Edward Bannister 
Mr. Wm. Gardner 



165 



EPISODE VIII 

The Spread of Democracy 

Director, Mrs. John Harris 



Standard Bearers. . . Mr. William Gundlefinger 
Mr. Robert Young 
Mr. Tom Dumm, Jr. 
Mr. Stuart Woodson 

America Mrs. Claud L. Clark 

Brtttania Mrs. Frank Zuber 

France Mrs. Paul Hunt 



Greece . 

Italy 

Chinese. 



. Miss Mary Louise Bowles 

. Miss Rose Wasserkrug 

. Mrs. John Mayhall 
Mrs. John Rader 
Miss Agnes Cullen 
Miss Florence Schott 
Miss Virginia Rodeman 
Miss Gladys Schott 



EPISODE LX 



Marshaling of the Hosts of Democracy 

Director, Mrs. Winifred Guenther 



Serbia Mr. Percy Steppleman 

Standard Bearer Mr. Leonard Hampton 



Russian Students. 



Peasants. 



.Mr. Clyde Thomas 
Mr. Leonard Shamel 
Mr. Edward Petry 
Mr. Herman Bosch 
Mr. Pearl Smith 
Mr. George Diercks 
Dr. Edward Mansur 

.Mr. Harry Hodgman 
Mr. Joe Osgood 
Mrs. W. A. Dallmeyer 
Mrs. Vivian Hayes 
Mrs. Edward Petry 
Miss Florence Henley 
Miss Ada Enloe 
Miss Esther Thomas 
Miss Frances Oliver 
Miss Isabel Wildman 



Belgium Mrs. L. S. Parker 



Belgian Women Mrs. Alan Gordon 

Mrs. John Jobe 
Mrs. Cletus Pope 
Mrs. Wm. Wildeboor 
Miss Irene Richardson 
Miss Mary Lee Faris 
Miss Camille Roseen 
Miss Mable Collins 

Canada Rev. A. Y. Beattie 

Australia Mr. Wm. Hager 

South Aprica Mr. R. J. Morrissey 

India Rev. Talbot 

Japanese Mrs. Nolan Wrightsman 

Miss Mildred Coose 
Miss Mildred Stadler 
Miss Martha Overstreet 



Forty-Eight States 

Directors, Mrs. Earl Grant, Mrs. Roy Morrow 

Mrs. F. D. Gardner, Mrs. Anna Moore, Mrs. Sidney Moore, Mrs. Wm. Roesen, Mrs. Paul Schmidt, 
Mrs. C. C. Carson, Mrs. Claude Grove, Mrs. Fred Voth, Mrs. Jack Lindley, Mrs. Fred Church, Mrs. E. J. 
Miller, Mrs. Wm. Gundlefinger, Mrs. Henry Andrae, Mrs. Otis Manchester, Mrs. S. A. Baker, Mrs. Willard 
King, Mrs. George Haigh, Mrs. Elmer Watson, Mrs. J. A. Hill, Mrs. Chester Miller, Mrs. I. T. Uptegrove, 
Mrs. Salmon, Mrs. Overstreet, Mrs. A. Y. Beattie, Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Ed. Fladd, Mrs. Boone. Miss Carrie 
Bohn, Miss Freda Knaup, Miss Gladys Wildman, Miss Julia Tweedie, Miss Roxie McCullough, Miss Anna 
Ruby Dillard, Miss Edna Morris, Miss Laura Hoefcr, Miss Nell Ellis, Miss Eugenia Wyatt, Miss Margaret 
Richardson, Miss Grace Clemmons, Miss Elaine Church, Miss Pauline Holtschneider, Miss Clara Holt- 
schneider, Miss Lydia Salisch, Miss Fay Oliver, Miss Virginia Fladd. 

America's War Contribution 



Director, Mrs. W. A. Moore 



Surgeons Dr. Hill 

Dr. McChester 

Soldiers and Marines. Corporal Jickey 
Corporal Le Roy 
Private Werner 
Sargent Huff 
Sargent Moulton 

Red Cross Workers.. Mrs. Sapp 

Director, Mrs. Monnig 
Mrs. Williams 
Mrs. Party 
Mrs. Bosch 
Mrs. Raithel 
Mrs. Sone 



Surgical Dressing 
Workers. 



Canteen Service. 



Junior Red Cross . . 
Y. M. C. A. Workers 
Camp Fire Girls . . . 
Boy Scouts 



Home Guards. 



Mrs. Stegmeyer 
Mrs. Corwin 
Mrs. Ross 
Mrs. Glover 
Mrs. Leslie 
Mrs. Purdue 
. Mrs. Houchin 
Mrs. Tweedie 
Mrs. Brandenberger 
Central School 

Margaret Morris 
Commissioner Gordon 

Darby 
Capt. Gruber 



166 



HISTORICAL FESTIVAL AND PAGEANT 167 



A NEWSPAPER NOTICE FROM 
THE SAVANNAH MORNING 
NEWS, April 25, 1919. 



COLORFUL PAOEANT 

Recalls City of 

One Hundred Years Ago. 

PROCESSION of THE YEARS 

Tells of 

Savannah's Wonderful Achievements 

and 
PROUD HISTORY 

Pageant Written by Dr. TAFT. 



By JANE JUDGE. 

Life in Savannah a hundred years 
ago was very beautifully recalled 
yesterday at the historical pageant 
written by Dr. Linwood Taft and 
directed by him and. presented by the 
Savannah Festival Association. 

Probably not even those in charge 
of the various episodes and working 
on the committees were prepared for 
the charm and beauty of the spec- 
tacle as it unfolded itself, exquisite 
in color and grouping, dignified and 
lovely, rich with tradition and his- 
toric interest, not without its occa- 
sional enlivening touch of humor and 
accompanied by the sweet music of 
string and wind instruments and the 
clear note of bugle calls. 

Thousands of people were on the 
streets around the historic Chatham 
Academy, now the High School, and 
in front of the Independent Presby- 
terian Church on Oglethorpe Avenue 
and in the neighboring streets when 
the procession led by the Spirit of 
Savannah left the Drayton Street 
entrance promptly at 4:30 o'clock 
and passing around Hull Street and 
down Bull entered the green at Ogle- 
thorpe Avenue. Here walking over 
the grass and between the rows of 
trees that border the park they were 
the most beautiful picture. The 
symbolic figures of Savannah and 
the Savannah River and attendant 
nymphs and dryads in flowing dra- 
peries of many colors the " Hundred 
Years" grouped by decades wearing 



robes of different colors and carrying 
symbols of the art or industry that 
distinguished them and the hundred 
of characters of a century ago in 
quaint old fashioned dress made a 
marvelous procession as they moved 
over the green in the afternoon sun- 
light with flickering shadows from 
the trees falling upon them and 
vagrant breezes playing about them. 
It was like a dream story come true 
people felt, strange and beautiful and 
wholly charming. 

Beautiful though the outdoor pro- 
cession was it hardly prepared people 
for the beauty of the indoor spectacle 
which moved swiftly from scene to 
scene with always the lovely back- 
ground of the symbolic figures 
grouped on the stage. 

The charming lines of Dr. Taft's 
pageant which wove all the scenes 
together gave such prologue as was 
necessary to gather up all that was to 
come, and before the episodes the 
heralds stationed at each side of the 
stage announced the approaching 
scene and bugles in different parts of 
the house sounded calls and were 
answered by other buglers. 

The whole house broke into spon- 
taneous applause as the lovely 
Spirit of Savannah with attendant 
maidens, heralds and buglers passed 
through the audience when the pag- 
eant opened, ascended the stage and 
summoned the beautiful Spirit of the 
Savannah River with nymphs of the 
forest and the flood. 

Had the pageant lacked anything 
of beauty, dignity or grace the Proces- 
sion of the Years 1819-1919 would 
have been enough to make it quite 
perfect. 

Poetically conceived this long pro- 
cession winding across the stage at 
the beginning of the" Hundred Years " 
hand in hand was like the unfolding 
of all the poetry and tradition the 
century held and, reappearing again 
at the end of the pageant decade by 
decade each decade with its symbol 
of accomplishment the "Hundred 
Years" gave beauty to the story. 
The ten earliest years clad in robes 
of purple and representing the decade 
when the episodes of the pageant 
took place occupied seats on the dais 
at each side of Savannah at whose 
feet rested the Spirit of the River and 
the nymphs and dryads. At each 



168 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 



side of the Spirit of Savannah a 
herald stood to sound the bugle calls 
and the two heralds who announced 
the episodes stood at the corners of 
the stage the others standing at the 
entrances of the auditorium. This 
was the lovely picture which made 
the background for all the dramatic 
episodes: the visit of Lady Hunting- 
don to Bethesda, the Savannah 
Female Orphanage first board of 
"lady directors," the visit of Presi- 
dent Monroe, the opening of the 
Savannah Theatre, the opening of 
Chatham Academy, Mr. Goodman's 
Dancing School and the Visit of 
Lafayette. 

When the end of the pageant came 
and before the epilogue was spoken 



the ten years of the first decade of 
the century stepped down from the 
dais and recalling the next decade 
passed off the stage. Decade by 
decade the years entered bearing 
their gifts to Savannah, each decade 
in robes of different color, and as they 
entered music suited to the spirit 
they expressed was beautifully played 
by the orchestra. The last ten years 
represented the years of war and the 
new year of peace and nine of them 
were clad in red each child in the 
group carrying an American flag. 
Little Elizabeth Pettus carrying an 
olive branch represented the peace 
year 1919 with its hope and promise. 
As she stood alone beside the Spirit 
of Savannah the Epilogue was spoken. 



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